Football: Gervais Martel, Karl Olive, Cyril Linette and Vincent Labrune sponsored by clubs for the presidency of the LFP

The general assembly of Foot Unis, bringing together the 46 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs, has given four sponsorships for the presidency of the Professional Football League (LFP), franceinfo learned on Thursday, August 29. Of the seven candidates who were aiming for the position, the four people sponsored by the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs are: Gervais Martel, Karl Olive, Cyril Linette, and the current president and candidate for re-election Vincent Labrune.

Gervais Martel, 69, is known in the world of football for having been the president of RC Lens between 1988 and 2012 and between 2013 and 2017. Karl Olive was a sports journalist at Canal +, he has been a member of parliament for the 12th constituency of Yvelines since 2022, for Ensemble pour la République. Cyril Linette also headed the sports department of Canal + (2008-2015), before being general director of L’Équipe (2015-2018) then of PMU (2018-2021). Before being appointed president of the LFP in 2020, Vincent Labrune was president of Olympique de Marseille from 2011 to 2020.

The election will take place on September 10. Before that, the four sponsored men must obtain a second sponsorship to be officially candidates, that of the Union of Football Actors (UAF). This is the body that brings together the associations and professional unions representing all the players in French football (players, coaches and educators, referees, doctors, administrators and similar professions). The UAF meets on Friday morning to give its opinion on the candidates.

The three candidates who did not obtain sponsorship from the 46 clubs are: Christophe Bouchet, president of Olympique de Marseille from 2002 to 2004; Stéphane Martin, president of Girondins de Bordeaux from 2017 to 2018 and Alain Guerrini, president of Panini France.