There will be two of them running for the presidency of the League. François Grenet, the former defender of the Girondins de Bordeaux, will be opposed to Matthieu Rabby, the former president of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques District. The first to declare himself, almost two years ago, was Matthieu Rabby. At 44 years old, this adopted Béarnais has a wealth of experience in the world of football, where he notably worked for the Federation, the clubs of Strasbourg and Pau. He traveled the countryside to meet clubs, traveling more than 7,000 kilometers and organizing 37 meetings.
François Grenet left later. Born in Bordeaux to a family originally from Bayonne (his father was deputy mayor of the city), he was French champion in 1999 with the Girondins de Bordeaux.
An undecided match
Both Rabby and Grenet wish to bring calm to a league where strong tensions have arisen between the president and his management committee. An outgoing president (he can no longer run again having served two terms) suspended by the FFF for refusing an audit. The two candidates also want less verticality in decisions and to give a voice to the districts. These are the clubs which will appoint Saïd Ennjimi's successor, in particular the approximately 700 clubs with fewer than a hundred licensees, out of the 1,300 in the League.
After an intense electoral campaign, the two candidates are neck and neck. If ten of the twelve district presidents (Sylvain Michelet, the president of the District of Lot-et-Garonne, campaigned for Rabby) gave their support to Matthieu Rabby, the notoriety of François Grenet, strong in the Basque Country as in Gironde where he has the support of Alain Giresse, Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, could tip the scales in his favor.
