“Finally, we are moving forward”: delay by France, essential revolution, Laurent Nicollin’s view of women’s football

Le président Laurent Nicollin place beaucoup d’espoirs dans la création de la Ligue professionnelle. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

A few days before the final of the Women's French Cup at La Mosson, Saturday May 4, the president of Montpellier HSC talks about the evolution of women's football, its limits, its demands at a time when the French championship is trying to make its revolution with the new Professional League, presented this Monday, April 29.

The new professional women's league is presented this Monday by the FFF. Is this a project that was expected by the clubs ?

Since Jean-Michel Aulas took over the women's team from the Federation, things have changed a little more. For years, we fought against windmills to try to advance women's football, because for certain people at the “Fédé”, from the moment when Lyon were champions of ;rsquo;Europe then Paris, everything was fine. We had the best championship, the best teams.

And then we see that what I predicted before the 2019 World Cup is happening: the English clubs are strengthening, the Italian clubs are starting, the Germans are regaining a little dynamism and above all, Spain has completely passed us by. By doing the opposite of what we do in France. They highlighted the clubs, the training, and when the clubs performed, the selection followed.

Before the 2019 World Cup in France, you warned of this danger. Do you have the feeling that at this time, French football fell asleep on its laurels??

We didn't fall asleep, we weren't awake! This cry of warning from the clubs is because we were highlighting the French team, which is very good, but we put the cart before the horse, especially for the few results. If she had won something, we could have said: “It’s magnificent”, but no. The clubs must be stronger, the training must be more structured. And the national selection will follow.

I have the impression that we built artificially because Lyon and Paris were able to perform in the European Cup

Does money remain the crux of the matter in women's football??

It’s a whole. Like in all sports. You have to be structured, have good training, good players, good educators. But also money. If Olympique Lyonnais is European champion, regular French champion, like PSG, it is because there is money. But I have the impression that we built artificially because Lyon and Paris were able to perform in the European Cup. But there is no structure. The basis of any club is to have viable and sustainable training. And they're not there.

A professional league for D1 and D2

The new Women's Professional Football League (LFFP) is presented this Monday, at the Pavillon Dauphine & Paris, à on the occasion of the D1 Arkema Trophies ceremony. It will be presented for approval at the meeting. the federal assembly of June 10.

The objectives of this Women's League are "to structure and professionalize the Arkema D1 and the women's D2. Promote and develop resources (partnerships, TV rights, FFF… commitment)."

Led by Jean-Michel Aulas, Deputy Vice-President of the FFF, it follows the federal plan for the development of high-level women's football presented here. a year ago, including the establishment of three levels for the Club license, the opening of approved training centers for young players, access ;s for these centers at the D3 championship…

Was the system too amateur?

No, but in a feminine way! We built a lot with a first team, like us at one time with the Swedes, we performed up to the quarter-finals of the European Cup. It’s artificial. You have a little money, you manage to have a team that performs but underneath, there is nothing. Is it normal that I have young players aged 15-16 without contracts??

We need to be able to give kids, and their parents, certain guarantees which are not just to play football but to make it their job

This League will provide a basis so that these young players can benefit from the same advantages as the boys. There is a desire, and above all, there are five clubs to have more structured training centers, more financially supported. We need to be able to give kids, and their parents, certain guarantees which are not just to play football but to make it their job and earn money doing it.

Among the Women's League project, there is access for training centers to D3. Is this a necessity to get young girls playing, and bridge the gap between D1 and the reserves ?

Our reserve team is so far the U19 team. We recreated one to move up to D3. The current problem, since there is no contract, is that girls aged 16 to 19, for whom it is too early to join the first team, are leaving for D2, D3 clubs to play. This is why we thought of this level which will allow us to keep certain elements.

We have to recreate everything. We start with a blank sheet. This will be the role of the League, of the agreement in conjunction with the unions to establish a status for the player. There’s work but it’s interesting. You tell yourself that finally, we are moving forward.

Does this process take time because there is no economic return?

Little by little, there will be some, but women's football is of less interest because it is less media-oriented and more promising. You see, you are at the matches, we have 300 people, we are happy, while we attract 15,000 to La Mosson for the boys. There is still a yawning gap. We will try to fill it but it will take thirty years. It’s up to us to work, to make people want to.

But you cannot therefore model your development model on that of boys ?

The only one I have, I create it with my teams. There is a budget and we simply put money in. The advantage is that with the training center, we now receive significant financial aid from the FFF. And it pays us in addition to the money from its sponsors for the first team. In total, we must approach 600,000,000 euros; against 150,000,000 euros; previously. The budget for the women's section is ultimately 2 M€.

In the next five years, 90%, there will only be teams from professional clubs, whether in D1 or D2

If I were a club alone, a long time ago as a patron, I would have said stop. This is why unfortunately, in the next five years, 90%, there will only be teams from professional clubs, whether in D1 or D2. For an amateur structure, with fifteen players paid between 1,500 and 3,000, the calculation is quickly done between charges, etc. If there are no financial benefits from sponsors or communities, you suffer and decline.

You would issue the same warning on the eve of the Olympics as before the 2019 World Cup?

No because there is something being created, with Jean-Michel Aulas, emblematic of French football. He will not want to disappoint people and himself. This is his last great adventure in football and he lives it through the women's team. He will do all he can. But once again, it's not going to happen in one day.

“The Coupe de France, it was obvious”

This is a unique poster that the La Mosson stadium will receive this Saturday, May 4. A 100% Parisian poster between Fleury and Paris SG. "It’s good to have a finale back home in the South. For once we get closer to Lyon, it’s not there but that’s the charm of the Coupe…", smiles Laurent Nicollin who would have liked first see your team there. He who had given continued &agrav; the proposal from the president of the Ligue Occitanie to organize the final. "There was the World Cup, now the Coupe de France. Çit flowed naturally… We must try to adapt women's football to the boys' arenas. It’s not easy. I'm not saying that we'll have 20,000 spectators, we're very far from that, but if you don't try, you'll have nothing…hellip;" Even if we don't talk about it much! "I’I have the impression of being an old shepherd with my cane and my bundle for years… It's very good that women's football is being highlighted at the national level. through the French team but through forced to always pull the cover from Les Bleues, we neglect the championship and even more the Cup. We are going to say that the alerts of recent years are starting to come to a head. make it move."

Finale à la Mosson, Saturday May 4 (3 p.m.). Information and tickets at billetterie.fff.fr