For the interim president of the FFF, "the contract with the Stade de France is extremely unfavorable"

“The current contract with Stade de France is extremely unfavorable to us

For the interim president of the FFF, "the contract with the Stade de France is extremely unfavorable"

“The current contract with Stade de France is extremely unfavorable to us. The interim president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Philippe Diallo, expressed in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday April 1, his desire to "get out of this situation". The State has launched two calls for tenders for the sale and concession of the Seine-Saint-Denis enclosure.

If Mr. Diallo explains that he will "wait to see the exact specifications", he believes "that there is no viable solution without the two major football and rugby federations signing up to 'one way or another in these projects'.

The current contract between the FFF and the Stade de France consortium, which runs until 2024, provides for the organization of at least four matches of the French men's team per year for an estimated rental cost of around 8 million euros in total.

"The French Football Federation is penalized by the contractual conditions made to it," insisted the interim president. "At this stage", Mr. Diallo does not envisage a departure from the national team of the enclosure.

"I'm waiting to see what the specifications will be and how we will fit in with them. But all this should be settled in the next six months. We will contribute to this by ensuring that our interests are preserved,” he repeated.

PSG interested in the Stade de France

On March 7, the State published the two calls for tenders: one for the transfer, the other for a concession, with a date for the submission of the "folds" on April 27 at 12 p.m., according to the documents consulted by the AFP. The offers submitted, both for the transfer and for a concession, will be studied in 2024, for a probable award in 2025.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) had positioned itself as a potential buyer of the stadium, with 80,000 seats, while negotiations between the club and the City of Paris for a possible takeover of the Parc des Princes are at a standstill.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the Stade de France would be worth "between 400 million and 600 million euros". If the State has given no price indication since the launch of the procedure, it is valued at 647 million (gross value) under tangible fixed assets in the 2021 State accounts.

An extension at the head of the FFF

In addition to his considerations on this file, Philippe Diallo also mentioned the possibility that he will remain at the head of the FFF beyond his interim period, he who took the lead after the withdrawal of Noël Le Graët , January 11 – finally resigned on February 28.

“My calendar leaves me very little room to think about electoral deadlines, he argued. In June, we will go around the table [during the general meeting] and we will see who seems the most suitable to finish the mandate [which runs until the end of 2024]. I would be hypocritical enough to say that it can't interest me, but I don't think about it every morning while shaving. »

The FFF "needs to find calm", he admits, nevertheless defending the maintenance of the executive committee, which had been elected with Noël Le Graët at its head. “In a town hall, when the mayor does not finish his term, his first deputy takes over and we wait for the elections that follow, he argues. Who can blame us for enforcing the statutes? The members were elected with nearly 73% of the votes in 2021. I do not believe that the departure of Noël Le Graët calls into question the overall legitimacy of the federation. »