Direct consequence of the withdrawal of Noël Le Graët, Wednesday January 11, Philippe Diallo, who will ensure the interim at the head of the French Football Federation (FFF) found himself propelled to the front of the stage. But who is he? Portrait elements.
Little known to the general public, Philippe Diallo has been a key figure in French football for years. Wednesday January 11, after several complicated days for Noël Le Graët, who gradually got bogged down in the Zidane controversy, considered by many to be too much of a slip-up – which led, neither more nor less, to the withdrawal of the president of the French Football Federation (FFF) after the holding of an extraordinary Executive Committee (Comex) -, Philippe Diallo has been appointed to take over as interim. The 59-year-old man, so far always remained in the shadows, thus found himself propelled into the spotlight.
Who is he ? What is his background? The least we can say is that Philippe Diallo is far from being an unknown in the very cozy world of football. Successively Director General of the Employers’ Union of Professional Football Clubs, which is none other than the employers’ union of professional clubs, President of the Social Council of the Sports Movement, Treasurer General of the French Football Federation then Vice-President of the FFF , he has a particularly extensive CV, but not only that. “It will be an anti-Le Graët in communication,” assured Frédéric Jaillant, in charge of communication for the LFP under the chairmanship of Frédéric Thiriez. And to detail: “His thing is not the big sentences that will divide the world of football. He will speak little and, when he does, it will be when he has something to say.”
Read also
Until when can Philippe Diallo ensure the interim?
Vice-president in office since December 2021, Philippe Diallo inherited the heavy task of replacing Noël Le Graët at short notice, as required by the statutes of the FFF. This interim should initially last until the publication of the audit of the Ministry of Sports on the management of the Federation, commissioned several weeks ago and the first results of which will be revealed at the end of January. In the event of the final departure of Noël Le Graët, Philippe Diallo should remain in place until the next election scheduled for 2024, the official date of the end of the mandate of the former mayor of Guingamp.
What is Philippe Diallo’s background?
Philippe Diallo was born in Saint Nazaire in 1963. He is the son of Souleymane Diallo, former Senegalese boxing champion, and a French mother. If it was initially on the football field that he wanted to make a career, within the young teams of FC Nantes, it is with brilliance that he succeeded in his retraining, integrating Sciences Po from where he graduated from a course in public law and business law.
Former general manager of the UCPF, the historic union of clubs which he joined from its creation or almost in 1992, he was also president of the Social Council of the Sports Movement (CoSMoS) and judge with FIFA. He then joined the Executive Committee of the FFF as treasurer in March 2021 before becoming vice-president in December 2021, taking over from Brigitte Henriques.
Brilliant, attentive… The anti-Le Graët? Who is Philippe Diallo?
Diallo is presented by some as an anti-Le Graët. He is indeed suspected of having approached Florence Hardouin, general manager of the FFF, also laid off on January 11, a few years ago, to try to get his hands on the Federation, before entering the ranks. and to support Noël Le Graët during his renewal in March 2021.
“It will be an anti-Le Graët in communication”, also told AFP the former journalist and communication officer of the LFP, Frédéric Jaillant, who praises a personality “of the most powerful and influential “in the world of football. football, “both pragmatic and political”, who will make moderate use of his word. Others confirm in the press since his appointment his “skills”, his mastery of files, his sense of consensus and his ability to listen to clubs and members.
Proof of his weight and his influence, Philippe Diallo has already been mentioned in the past to take the head of another football body: the Professional League (LFP). Although he has never applied for and carefully avoids the media, his name will nevertheless have been mentioned with insistence in 2016, on the sidelines of the election which will lead to the appointment of Nathalie Boy de la Tour as take over from Frédéric Thiriez at the time.
Philippe Diallo is also presented as a deminer, he who notably launched a few months ago a “reflection” to create a compensation fund for the victims of the World Cup sites in Qatar. But this time, it is another type of mine clearance that will have to be ensured as the 3F, mired in scandals, in particular sexual, seems in turmoil.