French Football Federation

The French Football Federation (abbr. FFF and 3F; or Triple F; French: Fédération Française de Football, pronounced [fedeʁɑsjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz də futbol]) is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF is 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.

Before the FFF was established, football, rugby union and others sports in France were regulated by the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA). Founded in November 1890, the USFSA was initially headquartered in Paris but its membership soon expanded to include sports clubs from throughout France.

In 1894, the USFSA also organised the first recognised French football championship. The first competition featured just four Paris teams and was organised on a knockout basis.

In 1900, the USFSA sent players from Parisian Club Français to represent France at the 1900 Summer Olympics. On 1 May 1904 the USFSA also selected the first official France national football team. The USFSA would be dissolved in 1919 after some disagreements with FIFA.

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.

On 7 April 1919 the CFI transformed themselves into the Fédération Française de Football with Jules Rimet being installed as the federation's first president. Its legal status is placed under the French Association loi de 1901 jurisdiction (Voluntary association). The FFF has been affiliated to FIFA since 1907, when the CFI succeeded the USFSA as France's representative. Two years later after the CFI's transformation, the USFSA officially merged with the federation.

On 28 June 2010, the federation's current president, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, announced his resignation from his position effective 23 July. On 23 July, Fernand Duchaussoy was installed as the federation's interim president and, on 18 December, the title was removed making him the federation's 11th president in its history. On 18 June 2011, following as election, Nöel Le Graët was named as the federation's 12th president. The FFF announced to file a complaint with FIFA over racist and discriminatory remarks made by Argentina players in post-match chants after their Copa América win. The incident involved Enzo Fernández, who posted a video where players appeared to sing about French players of African heritage. Wesley Fofana condemned the video as "uninhibited racism." Philippe Diallo condemned the remarks and planned to contact Argentina's football federation and FIFA. Gianni Infantino had previously committed to a zero tolerance approach to racism.

The French Football Federation describes itself in these four roles: