Everyone knows that when you have two bosses he has none

Jean-Pierre Escalettes, President of the French football Federation (FFF), will today present his resignation to the Federal Council. In so doing, it will open the site of the governance of the sport instance. Since the breakdown tremendous team of France in South Africa, which has involved defeats sporting, insults and strike, everyone has his idea on the subject. Some, such as Jean-Michel Aulas, President of the Olympique Lyonnais, suggest solutions that take the patching: the appointment of a pattern of professional football from blue pole. It was even cited the name of Jean-Louis Campora, former President of the AS Monaco More structured, Frédéric Thiriez, President of the League of professional football, proposed on 26 June in "Team", log which dégoupillé the grenade detonated French football, an organization based on the companies. It would take the form of a supervisory board, that would become a federal Privy Council his "permanent" power of decision, and a "limited" Executive Board, responsible for the operational. The crossing, the advocate, volunteer pattern of pro football which advocated a form of temporary co-management of French football between amateurs and professionals (bad languages saw the even attempting to leave the League for the Federation, history did not undergo the next Ligue 1... TV rights tender), wished to elect the President of the Federation by a direct vote of the club Presidents.

Supervisory Board and Executive Board: this type of organisaion is prohibited for several years by Jean-François Lamour who, when he was Minister of Sports, had seen the burdens of the management of the federations.

On a philosophical level, amateur football officials fear, them, a takeover bid of their counterparts of football pro, with fear, term, reduce the financial solidarity of the professional sector in their regard.

But, for the examination of the facts, what are actually the problems of governance of the FFF

At first glance, the South African "crash" is due to bad management. Jean-Pierre Escalettes has left Raymond Domenech work in complete autonomy, and coach is the contrary of what the President promised in 2008. The latter had wished a team of France open to the world and communicating. The player has chosen to transform its training centre of the Pezula Resort in entrenched camp closed to the public and journalists. Another example: on 11 may in the morning, the FFF purchased jointly with TF1 in the pages of advertising to promote the announcement by Raymond Domenech, in the journal of 20 hours, selected "23". It will give a list of 30 noms shamelessly Employee of the FFF, the coach could be sanctioned by his "boss". It was nothing. And for good reason. Fifteen days before the designation by the host country of the Euro 2016 UEFA Jean-Pierre Escalettes could not afford to point the disruption of his institution. More importantly, the announcement a few weeks before the World Cup of the choice of Laurent Blanc to succeed Raymond Domenech was disastrous. Knowing that he would make no benefit of a good route in South Africa, the coach was free to go its own way.

But to look more closely, the absence of exercise of power by Jean-Pierre Escalettes does not explain everything. The very structure of the governance of the Federation denies actually President of any true power.

The election of the President is actually indirectly elected. The Federal Assembly consists of "delegated" representing the regional leagues, clubs from the national level and professional football. Every delegate has a quota of votes. To simplify: a voice for 1,300 licensed for regional delegates. These are small local apparatchiks who elect the grand national apparatchik, which, for having had the time to climb to the top of the device, can be only old enough and have to first policy that flatter its voters. The President of the FFF is, clearly, closest to the Senate than in the nationale Assembly More serious yet: the Federal Assembly elects the President, if the Federal Council - which includes 21 members including the President, 8 representatives of the world amateur, professional sector 6 and 6 of the "families" of football (educators, players, referees, doctors, etc.)-, which holds executive authority and appoints the Director General of the Federation, as principal salaried executives.

In short, the President of the FFF President, but is not really and his administration is not truly under its authority. There is the dilution of the real power that led to the immobility and inefficiency. A particularly strong inefficiency that she is in fact, except for serious breach, no sanction. The sport Code stipulates in article l. 111 - 1 that "The State exercises the guardianship of the sports federations" and article l. 131 - 1 that the federations "exercise their activity independently", i.e., that they are accountable to international federations to which they are affiliated, that did not fail to remind the Fifa. Everyone knows that when you have two bosses, he has none.