The new Board of Directors is already partly known. Even if they remain to be officially validated by votes, several of the 17 seats are already filled. The three independent members will be Vincent Labrune, Cyril Linette and Karl Olive. The representative of the FFF will be Marc Keller, president of Strasbourg and member of the Comex of the FFF. The representative of Foot Unis, the clubs’ union, will naturally be its president Laurent Nicollin. The UNFP, the players’ union which has two seats will be represented by Philippe Piat and David Terrier.
Finally, Jacky Bonnevay will be the representative of UNECATEF, the coaches’ union. The other football families, referees (SAFE, Olivier Lamarre), administrators (SNAAF, Lola Pierres), doctors (AMCFP, Eric Rolland) also already have their representative on the future CA but their voice is only consultative. All that remains is to elect the representatives of the Ligue 1 clubs (seven seats) and Ligue 2 (two seats).
Which representatives for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2?
This Thursday, the League’s electoral operations monitoring committee, whose chairman is the chairman of the legal committee, validated the number of candidates. In Ligue 2, there are three for 2 seats: Loïc Féry (Lorient), Pierre-Olivier Murat (Rodez) and Bernard Joannin (Amiens). In Ligue 1, there are nine for seven seats: Nasser Al-Khelaifi (PSG), Jean-Pierre Caillot (Reims), Damien Comolli (TFC), Olivier Létang (Lille), Pablo Longoria (OM), Waldemar Kita (Nantes), Jean-Pierre Rivère (Nice), Joseph Oughourlian (Lens) and Juan Sartori (Monaco). Among the seats reserved for L1, the regulations require that there be at least three from a club ranked in the top five in the UEFA coefficient rankings of French clubs on the day of the election. This Thursday, the LFP management sent all members of the General Meeting and Cyril Linette the instructions and the complete procedure for the election so that everyone understands the different stages of the election.
A subtlety for the votes
Next Tuesday, September 10, the entire professional football family will gather at the new LFP headquarters at 34, boulevard de Courcelles in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The day will begin with a meeting of the two colleges of L1 (12 p.m.) and Ligue 2 (11 a.m.). In accordance with article 35 of the League’s statutes, each college votes for its representatives on the future CA: seven members in Ligue 1 and two in Ligue 2. Once this vote has been made, the candidates who came in last place (8th and 9th in L1 and 3rd in L2) can withdraw their candidacy or maintain it. The General Assembly then meets and proceeds to elect the new Board of Directors. The subtlety of the AG vote lies in the weighting of the votes. The votes of Ligue 1 to validate the L1 candidates weigh more heavily than the votes of the other entities of the AG. Specifically, each vote from a L1 club represents 10 votes. The same goes for the votes from Ligue 2 to validate the L2 candidates.
Once this vote has been made, there will be an interruption of the AGM session for the newly elected Board of Directors to meet. This is when the Board must choose its candidate for the presidency. The winner (in the first round if absolute majority or 2nd round with simple majority) is then proposed to the AGM which proceeds to the election of the president with here also a weighting of the votes. Ligue 1 clubs have 2.75 votes per club, L2 clubs have 1.75 votes per club, families have 2 votes per union and the FFF has one vote.
Behind the scenes, negotiations are in full swing
Each elected member signs a confidentiality agreement and undertakes a duty of confidentiality. The members of the CA also undertake to respect the LFP code of conduct in the fight against corruption and the prevention of conflicts of interest. In this regard, they complete a conflict of interest declaration form. The president of the LFP, the vice-presidents, the Treasurer General and the Secretary General must make a declaration to the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP). This entire process will take place under the supervision of the League’s electoral operations monitoring commission. It will be supported by a bailiff who will also be present on election day.
Negotiations are in full swing behind the scenes, where phone calls are being made one after another. The vast majority of presidents must return to the capital on the eve of the election. Bernard Joannin, president of the Ligue 2 college, is inviting all his fellow 2nd division presidents to dinner on Monday evening in a renowned restaurant in the 8th arrondissement.
Once this electoral sequence is over, the news around the LFP should not calm down because from the next day, Wednesday September 11, the program is busy. The presidents of Ligue 1 have an appointment with the directors of DAZN to think about possible improvements to the Ligue 1 product. The opportunity perhaps also to have an initial figure on subscriptions to the platform. And Cyril Linette will be heard by the Senate information mission on the financialization of professional football chaired by Laurent Lafon. It remains to be seen whether it will be as the new president of the League…
- RMC Sport
