“We must decentralize decisions!” : Pierre Samsonoff, candidate for president of the FFF, visiting Dijon

Who will be the next president of the French Football Federation (FFF)? The candidates are campaigning for the election which will take place on December 10 and 11, the results will be known on December 14. Two candidates are in the running for the position: the outgoing president, Philippe Diallo, and the outsider, Pierre Samsonoff. This 47-year-old business leader, who runs US Saint Malo, is the former general director of the Amateur Football League. He launched into this campaign with a specific focus: decentralize FFF decisions taken in Paristo leave more room for clubs in the regions.

The disconnection of the FFF as a campaign axis

And for this campaign, Pierre Samsonoff must meet the actors on the ground from the different regions, hence his coming to Dijon on Saturday November 23, to meet club leaders from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Leaguenotably the USCD (dijon railway workers’ sports union). The president, Xavier Recober, was able to express his expectations: “What interested me is that he already wants to bring football back as close as possible to the field, and therefore to the clubs, because today, high-level football only exists through the clubs, and By this I mean the small regional, country or city clubs, which train the players”he elaborates. “Now, the FFF is completely above ground, we have the impression that it is an elite and that everything that happens below does not interest it, they are taking us out of the rules which constrain us enormously financially. So Clubs like ours can only turn to institutions to help us update the rules, the pitches, the locker rooms, the lighting, but at some point, the money is not flowing freely. The federation must keep it up! account: that there is a level of constraint is normal, but it must not be completely uncorrelated with the economic reality of the grounds and our clubs.”

This disconnection from the French Football FederationPierre Samsonoff feels it too: “When we listen to the outgoing team, we have the impression that everything is going well in football, that the big concern at the moment is the economic model of professional football, and that the rest is working very well, because we have more licensees. But this hides a large part of the reality that clubs and licensees experience today!” And if he is elected, his first measure will be: “Decentralize decisions! We are radically changing the way the Federation operates, we are getting closer to the ground and we are ensuring that the leagues and districts have real room to maneuver to help their clubs!”

This is why he chose to put field players on your list : “There are presidents of small clubs, regional clubs, district clubs, a futsal club president, educators, referees obviously, and even an active player (editor’s note: Benjamin André)! Our desire is that it is the people who encounter problems on the ground who are responsible for finding solutions, because that is how we will be effective!”says Pierre Samsonoff.

“Make the link between amateur football and professional football”

Among his running mates, we find in 9th position Daniel Fonteniaud, president of the League of Burgundy-Franche-Comté. “We want to return the Federation to those who play football, that is to say the clubs, because we are not satisfied with the way in which the Federation functions today in terms of governance, relations with territories, actors and clubs”he indicates. “We support amateur football a lot, because it’s our credo, but also all football, because we have to make the link even stronger between amateur football and professional football! We have a real desire to make things happen, to develop governance, the relationship that we can have with the clubs in terms of regulations, support, aid: today, there is little aid flowing from the Federation to the clubs, and the leagues and districts do not have the no means to directly help the clubs in all areas And this is what we want to do in terms of employment, training, infrastructure and other help that the clubs need.

He is convinced of the chances of victory of Pierre Samsonoff’s list, because the voting method has changed for this election : “For the first time, all the clubs will vote! The amateur clubs have never participated until now in the election of the president of the federation. We must therefore say to all the amateur clubs in France, and especially among us in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, whether they operate at the national, regional or departmental level: they will be able to vote on December 10 and 11 remotely So 11,500 amateur clubs which represent 1/3 of the votes, another third remains! to professional clubs and the last third for the authorities, so the leagues and districts, so that gives a completely different panel of voters and that can make the difference!”

“Women’s football must be considered more”

Another axis of Pierre Samsonoff’s campaign: the place and resources devoted to women’s football in the Federation! Especially in clubs in financial difficulty like DFCO, where the president recently expressed concern about the future of the women’s section. Pierre Samsonoff would like to see more resources given by the FFF to women’s football: “The federation created a professional football league a few months ago, which is a great announcement and which is something that had to be done. The problem is that behind it there is nothing in term of developing partnerships, exposing competitions, so it is a real challenge for the FFF to find new partners, to better expose these elite competitions and to make them more attractive. All this work must be carried out by. the federation, and in my opinion, women’s football must be considered more If the partners do not follow, it is because we are addressing the same partners for men’s football and women’s football, and I am not sure that this is the right strategy! It is also up to us to renew our way of thinking in order to see people other than those we are used to seeing.”