FFF: The New York Times survey puts the institution in trouble

  • 3 years ago
The FFF is seeing red since the publication of a long survey on its internal organization in the famous daily newspaper "The New York Times".
From the outside, the French Football Federation (FFF) has been an absolute reference in this sport for the last two years:
The men's team won the 2018 World Cup in Russia and a year later hosted the most closely watched Women's Championship in history.
However, if the institution performs well from a sporting point of view, the newspaper points to a "toxic corporate culture".
Celebrated for its success on the field, the French Football Federation hired a consultant to handle complaints against several of its executives.
These include intimidation, misconduct and sexism.
Therefore it reveals the existence of an investigation for moral harassment on the part of the Executive Director, Florence Hardouin, a complaint of sexual assault and other criminal charges.
It's a professional environment in which inappropriate language, alcohol abuse and stress are common, and where alcohol has fueled inappropriate behavior.
At least half a dozen employees and former employees of the Federation describe a work environment in which inappropriate language, harassment and stress are daily occurrences.
From now on, the federation has banned the consumption of alcohol and, at the beginning of 2020, introduced anti-harassment training, which is mandatory for all employees.
Noël Le Graët is accused of having turned a blind eye to these internal problems for at least a year.
However, the President of the FFF had no choice but to hire an external consultant to resolve conflicts within the organization: "For several months now, I have been informed of cases of dysfunction and tense working relations within the executive team. I don't want this situation to continue. It hurts our organization and the working environment between all of us." Noël le Graët