1919
Jean-Pierre Escalettes (2005-present)
France
Facts & History
Contents |
About the French Football Federation
The French Football Federation (FFF) is the managing football organization of France. Based in Paris, it was a founding member of both FIFA and UEFA. Its principal tasks are to organise the French Football League and the French National Team (men and women). It was one of the first European federations to professionalize football, in 1934.
France Federation History
On November 20, 1887, the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (USFSA) was created; it was a French multisport federation, one of the founding members of FIFA in 1904. In 1907, in order to be affiliated to FIFA, the USFSA was renamed the CFI (Comité français interfédéral). Finally, in 1919, the CFI was transformed into the FFF, and Jules Rimet was named as president.
A few months after WWII, a new organization, the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel), was created. Under the control of the FFF, its aim is to organize and regulate the 2 French professional Football leagues (Ligue 1 and Ligue 2). On June 15, 1954, the French, Italian and Belgium Federations created the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations).
As of 2006, the Federation had 2,143,688 licensees, including 1,850,836 players.
The French Cup
The French Cup, also known as Coupe Charles Simon or Coupe de France, was created in 1918 and is open to all professional and non-professional teams. It is organized by the FFF: in the 2008 edition, 6,734 clubs were playing in the competition. The winner of the Cup is directly qualified for the next season’s UEFA Cup. The games are played in 1 leg only, to a finish (extra-time/shootout), increasing chances to win for the “smaller” clubs. In the past seasons, several finalists were playing in Ligue 2 or even lower (non-professional status!!).
Marseille has won the most titles (10), followed by Paris Saint Germain (PSG) with 7 wins. Since 1927, the President of France has always attended the final and presented the cup to the winning team's captain.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel
The French Professional Football League (LFP) was created in 1944, a few months after the end of WWII. The LFP manages Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, which are the French Leagues of professional football, and also the League Cup. The LFP organization is fully controlled by the FFF.
League Confederation Ranking
UEFA League rankings: 4th
Federation Management
LFP President: Frederic Thiriez
FFF President: Jean Pierre Escalettes
French Football Leagues
League Association Management
Jules Rimet (1919-1942 then 1944-1949)
Henri Jevain (1942-1944)
Emmanuel Gambardella (1949-1953)
Pierre Pochonnet (1953-1963)
Antoine Chiarisoli (1963-1968)
Jacques Georges (1969-1972)
Fernand Sastre (1973-1984)
Jean Fournet-Fayard (1985-1993)
Claude Simonet (1994- 2005)
Jean-Pierre Escalettes (2005-present)
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