Football: Jean-Michel Aulas, elected vice-president of the FFF

Jean-Michel Aulas was elected this Saturday morning vice-president of the French Football Federation, this position having been vacant since the appointment of Philippe Diallo as president of the institution. Member of the executive committee of the FFF since 2017 and president of the high level women's commission at the Federation, the former president of OL did not, however, obtain unanimous votes. The only candidate, he was elected with 78.58% of the votes. His mandate runs until the end of 2024, the date of the next elections. “It is a great pleasure to be with you here this morning. I wanted to tell you that this is a strong commitment for me after 37 years of good and loyal service in the professional world. I was constantly in contact with the amateur world. I know how difficult it is to be a club president and manager in amateur football. This is why it was important to respond favorably to this proposal.”

The one who has been a member of the executive committee of the FFF since 2017 and also president of the high level women's commission at the Federation also wanted to pay tribute to the former president of the FFF Noël Le Graët: “He brought me here in the first configuration of the COMEX. We will make sure to look you in the eye and hear you. We know the difficulty of the task of being representatives of amateur football.” The historic former boss of Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas, already a member of the executive committee of the French Football Federation, was elected vice-president of the FFF on Saturday during its general assembly.

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“I proposed to submit the name of Jean-Michel Aulas to your vote, you know his experience, his competence and his contribution that he has made to French football,” declared the president of the FFF Philippe Diallo before the vote. during its federal assembly meeting on Saturday in Paris. Philippe Diallo, former boss of the professional clubs union, held this position of vice-president of “3F” since December 2021 before becoming interim president following the resignation of Noël Le Graët – present on Saturday during the AGM – at the end of February, then to be elected in June until 2024. “It is for me a strong commitment after 37 years of good and loyal service in the professional world. I was constantly in contact with the amateur world. When I started in 1987, Olympique Lyonnais was very close to the concerns you have every day. I know how difficult it is to be president in amateur football,” explained Jean-Michel Aulas from the podium, adding with a smile that he had “more availability for some time”.

Jean-Michel Aulas managed Olympique Lyonnais for 36 years from 1987, before selling the club to the American group Eagle Football in December 2022. He was then hastily ousted from the presidency of OL last June by the American businessman John Textor, new owner. The 74-year-old former manager also indicated that he had “commitments also focused on women's football”: “We want to increase the number of licensees, our ambition over five years is to have 500,000 licensees”.