Why cécifoot is not affiliated to the French Football Federation | OneFootball

France’s cécifoot, European champions again in late August, two years after their Paralympic title, still sit under the Fédération française de handisport rather than the FFF. According to L'Équipe, some want change, yet that appears unlikely for now.

A week after retaining the European crown, the squad paid a courtesy visit to FFF president Philippe Diallo. The discipline is affiliated to the FFH, headed by Gaël Rivière, who also plays for France. A convention links the FFF and FFH, with the FFF providing tens of thousands of euros each year.

Para-foot sits with the FFH after able-bodied federations initially overlooked disability sport. The state can reassign delegations every four years. In January the FFH lost para-fencing and para-bench press to able-bodied federations, prompting a column that condemned institutional ableism and the idea the FFH was inherently less competent.

Rivière’s position is that the FFH seeks delegations only when it judges itself competent and useful to participants. Paris 2024, he argues, strengthened its case on high performance and development, and progress is steady.

At the Euros, England, whose cécifoot sits inside the FA, had greater resources but lost the final 1-0 to France. Some French players want the symbolism of belonging to the same family as the game. Martin Baron points to positive blind-karting work with motor sport, while another team-mate believes FFF association would help image and sponsors.

For now the FFF is not seeking the cécifoot delegation. It says taking only cécifoot would be neither inclusive nor ethical, and any move would need to cover all para-foot disciplines. The ministry could ask next Olympiad, but for now it is concentrating on delivering its agreement with the FFH in clubs and specialist settings, and on supporting the national teams.

Source: L'Équipe

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