FFF to name interim president

The French Football Federation plan to elect a replacement on an interim basis for departing president Jean-Pierre Escalettes on July 23.

Escalettes' resignation was ratified at Friday's meeting of the FFF's federal council but he will remain in his post for a further three weeks after divisions between the amateur and professional game meant no immediate successor could be found.

Frederic Thiriez, president of the Ligue de Football Professionel (LFP), and his counterpart in the amateur game, Fernand Duchaussoy, will hold further discussions to determine the way forward before the federal council reconvenes.

Initial reports suggested that meeting would simply establish a process for the elections, which would then take place in September - but a later FFF statement confirmed: "The election of the interim president of the FFF will take place on that date."

The statement also revealed: "The two families (amateur and professional) have decided to work together, over the course of the coming days, on major dossiers which are the key to the future of French football, particularly the governance of the France team and the modernisation of the federal agencies."

In the only firm decision to come out of the meeting, Laurent Blanc was confirmed as the new national team coach, replacing Raymond Domenech - who had already announced his intention to stand down before Les Bleus' woeful campaign in South Africa.