Football: "ambition" for Mbappé at the Olympics, "elegance" with Le Graët ... Philippe Diallo launches his end of term

Before discussing the various current issues that await him in the short or medium term, Philippe Diallo, elected president with 91.26% of the vote, returned to his victory without appeal, suspense or real challenge: "I was interim, I become elected. I am very sensitive to the score achieved. When Noël Le Graët led the campaign in 2021, we did 73%. And after all the crises, we could wonder if we were going to be able to reconstitute this majority. With 91%, the majority is not only reinforced but it is widened. I am very proud to have gathered almost the entire football world behind my candidacy. It is a feeling of satisfaction and responsibility”.

“A certain number of contacts have been established (with the players to reform the convention governing the image rights of the Blues, Ed). I seized it to find a favorable outcome. I would ideally like that during the month of June we find solutions. I think that with a little understanding on both sides we can get there.

“Football is sometimes the poor relation of the Olympic Games. But the fact that it's in Paris obliges us. We are going to be a flagship discipline if we can mobilize our licensees, our territories. We will have to form the most efficient team, we all have a name in mind that would increase our ambition tenfold (...) Kylian Mbappé has already spoken on the subject. He wants to participate. Through their characteristics, the Olympic Games make athletes dream. And I believe that with its best players, our team can reach the podium. Kylian Mbappé is a record hunter and having a gold medal will be a way for him to make history (…) The sequence will be complicated with the Euros, the Olympics, the L1. It's a heavy sequence. But the Olympics, it's been a century since we had them. We experienced a form of stampede in Tokyo (most clubs had not released their players, editor's note). I don't want us to go through the same difficulties. We are going to undertake a work of conviction. We are going to make our professional clubs aware of the fact that it is in the general interest to field the best team”.

“I have contact not daily but several times a week with him. The episode of his resignation from the Federation was not up to the great career he had as president. He has suffered injuries, he is fighting to have the injustice of which he claims to be a victim recognized. My role is to have a form of elegance towards him, we must continue to take into account his contribution to his function. He was there (Saturday at the General Assembly) because it is his place. He was a very good president, it is normal that he is there”.

"The Women's World Cup broadcast in France? I believe him. It is now a soap opera where broadcasters and Fifa oppose each other. But the general interest wants this competition to be broadcast for the French. Exchanges have taken place in recent hours and days, and lead me to believe that agreements can be signed. (A France Télévisions-M6 agreement, as announced by L'Equipe?) I'm not confirming anything, but it seems to me that reason will prevail, that balances will be found, that announcements can be made within hours and the coming days”.