UEFA | |
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Founded | 7 April 1919 |
Headquarters | Paris |
FIFA affiliation | 1907 |
UEFA affiliation | 1954 |
President | Noël Le Graët |
Website | http://www.fff.fr |
The French Football Federation (FFF) (French: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of association football in France, as well as the overseas departments (Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion) and the overseas collectivities (New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Saint Barthélemy-Saint Martin) and also in Monaco. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF was a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in France, both professional and amateur. The French Football Federation is a founding member of UEFA and joined FIFA in 1907 after replacing the USFSA, who were founding members.
The Fédération Française de Football was formed on 7 April 1919 following the transformation of the Comité Français Interfédéral (CFI) into the Fédération Française de Football Association (FFFA). The CFI were seen as a rival organization to the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA) due to the organization's constantly disagreeing with each other, mainly due to the latter's opposition to professionalism in sport. Following the debacle at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in which France sent two teams, one controlled by the USFSA and another by FIFA, the CFI ruled that FIFA would now be responsible for the club's appearances in forthcoming Olympic Games and not the USFSA. Being a founding member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the USFSA disagreed with the ruling and, despite having three years to reach an agreement, the CFI and the USFSA failed to, which led to France not sending a football team to the 1912 Summer Olympics. The USFSA later developed friction with FIFA and the IOC, which led to disorganization and in 1913, became semi-affiliated with the CFI.