What will be the impact of the one-year postponement of the Olympic Games (OJ) on the calendar of elections for the presidency of the various French sports federations? If the issue is secondary to the health emergency, the issue concerns the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF).
On March 25, the day after the announcement of the postponement of the Olympic Games, the National Olympic Committee asked for the opinion of the Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES) in Limoges. The next day, in a legal consultation to which The world had access, he raised the possibility of a compromise: postpone the federal elections to March 31, 2021 at the latest, scheduled initially for the fall of 2020. A way of offering a little flexibility compared to the initial calendar, while avoiding a postponement of an entire year.
According to our information, some outgoing presidents have already suggested that they would prefer the postponement of one year to organize the elections after the new dates fixed for the Games (from July 23 to August 8, 2021). This prospect would favor the presidents in place, however denounce behind the scenes some opposition candidates, while the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris are already looming.
The CNOSF has not yet decided the question. The institution was to meet its executive office on Tuesday, March 31 in the afternoon.
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Statutes that give way to ambiguity
According to the sports code, the federations approved by the ministry of sports have compulsory statutory provisions: they must elect their president " by secret ballot for a period of four years " and their mandate must expire "By December 31 of the year in which the Summer Olympics are held. "
In practice, however, the statutes of the federations give way to ambiguity. Some explicitly indicate a maximum duration of four. Others refer to the period of the Olympiad, that is to say the period between two editions of the Olympic Games: four years, in principle … except in the event of a pandemic due to the coronavirus.
The one-year postponement of the Tokyo Games leaves room for interpretation as to the date of the next election. The postponement of the sporting event "Has no automatic consequence on the date of the federal elections", reminds the CDES. However, the document states that "The requirement for democratic functioning of sports federations is strongly based on the principle of the election every four years of their governing bodies. "
"Preserve the fairness of the elective elections to come"
The legal consultation revealed two cases. The most problematic is that of the federations that voted for the last time in the fall of 2016: either they will have to organize, as planned, their election in the fall of 2020, or they will need a decree from the Ministry of Sports to " extend the term by a few months (until March 31, 2021 seems reasonable) ". But, for that, they will have to bring the justification of"A material impossibility of keeping them in satisfactory democratic conditions "
For the federations having renewed their president in the first quarter of 2017, the question is easier to resolve: they will be able to postpone their ballot to the first quarter of 2021 "Without particular justification", always in the legal light.
Contacted, the ministry of sports indicates that"No position has yet been fixed" on the electoral tempo.
Tuesday, March 31, the deputy (LREM) of Aveyron, Stéphane Mazars, alerted Minister Roxana Maracineanu on these “Difficulties in renewing mandates in sports federations. " In his question, listed in Official newspaper, the deputy of the presidential majority regrets "Statutory disparities between sports federations".
"Provided that the pandemic allows it", the parliamentarian agrees with the lawyers of the CDES and says he is in favor of maintaining the federal elections at the end of 2020, or even in the first quarter of 2021, in order to "Preserve the fairness of future elective elections".
The Football Federation awaits the decision of Noël Le Graët
The powerful French Football Federation (FFF) – 2 million licensees, 265 million euros in revenue during the past season – seems, for its part, inclined to postpone the election of its president, scheduled for December 2020. C 'is in any case the opinion of its current manager, Noël Le Graët, who, when contacted, said he was leaning towards a postponement in March 2021, six months before the start of the Euro.
Almost 79 years old, the patriarch of French football indicates that such a postponement "Is not likely to have an impact on (her) decision » whether to stand for a fourth four-year term. He will announce his choice " after summer vacation "
Many sources close to the FFF suggest that the Breton leader, architect of the financial recovery of the federation, should represent himself and hand over, in December 2022, at the end of the World Cup in Qatar.
This departure could thus coincide with the end of the contract of Didier Deschamps, coach of the Blues and world champion in Russia in 2018, with which Mr. Le Graët has been the “winning tandem” of French football for eight years.
This change in calendar also refers to questions about the future of Florence Hardouin, director general of the FFF since 2013. Close to Mr. Deschamps and the members of his technical staff, to whom she has made herself indispensable, number 2 of the 'will the proceedings be kept by Mr Le Graët if he represents himself?
In November 2019, The team found that two months earlier, thirteen out of seventeen federal directors had signed a " motion of no confidence Against him, denouncing his management. Contacted, Ms. Hardouin did not follow up. Without knowing exactly for the time being, like all of French sport, when the next elections will be held.
