After the resignation of Noël Le Graët, whose mandate was to end in 2024, Philippe Diallo takes over as interim head of the French Football Federation (FFF).
At 59, he is a shadow actor with limited notoriety, but a fine connoisseur of the actors and mysteries of football for three decades.
Unknown to the general public, Diallo led for nearly thirty years (from 1992 to 2021) the Union of Professional Football Clubs (UCPF), an employers’ union, and notably played an important role in player transfer reforms, in showing political skill.
Son of a Senegalese boxing champion
A native of Saint-Nazaire, son of a Senegalese boxing champion, he entered the “3F” by joining the list of Noel Le Graet during the re-election of the Breton leader in March 2021.
General treasurer within the executive committee (Comex) of the federation, Philippe Diallo climbed in the organization chart by becoming deputy vice-president in December 2021 when Brigitte Henriques took the head of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF). The interim presidency returned to him in January 2023 after the withdrawal of Noël Le Graët.
“ He is a structured, intelligent, composed, consensual man, a man of files. It really ticks a lot of boxes, except notoriety “, summed up Éric Borghini, member of the Comex since 2011. “ I have to put myself above the fray and have the general interest as my sole concern. This means that personal ambitions that may be legitimate must be put on hold in this period of crisis. Then, everyone will be able to have the ambitions that they consider natural to be able to claim the post of president of the Federation. “, he explained in January in the columns of The Team.
An international experience
A graduate in public law and business law, graduated from Sciences Po Paris, Philipe Diallo has international experience as a single judge in the FIFA dispute resolution chamber since 2003. Since 2013, he has been head of the Social Council of the sports movement (Cosmos), an employers’ organization bringing together several thousand structures – clubs, leagues, event organizers, etc. ” The first and only employers’ organization representing sport employers and bringing together nearly 10 000 sports structures “, can we read on the official website of the organization.
Now on the front line, with an extended interim until the Federal Assembly in June, or even until December 2024, will Philippe Diallo be able to put down roots in the number one function? “ He is not yet well known to the general public. But if he remains at the head of the federation for eighteen months, he will no longer be dislodged. And it’s the fear of some “slipped Eric Borghini in reference to his potential competitors.
With AFP