Hearing before the National Assembly this Tuesday, in Paris, Noël Le Graët, the former president of the French Football Federation (FFF) was interviewed by the commission of inquiry into dysfunctions within sports federations. When addressing the question of the extension of Didier Deschamps, the former boss of French football announced that he regretted that the current coach of the France team, now under contract until the 2026 World Cup, does not take over as head of the FFF.
“At one point I thought I could convince him. Ten-twelve years as a coach is a long time. Didier is an exceptional guy. I would have liked him to take over. I tried to convince him, but it didn’t work. With Didier, we were able to talk about it, but he would have had to introduce himself”he explained during his hearing, before mentioning his successor, Philippe Diallo. “He has a terrible pot. He was defeated in union elections. I found him good, particularly on legal issues, and when Brigitte Henriques left, he was the only one I could appoint as vice-president”.
