“We want to make D1 the first European League”, declares Jean-Michel Aulas

The vice-president of the FFF, Jean-Michel Aulas, responded to franceinfo on Tuesday, leaving a working meeting around the future professional women’s football league.

“We want to make D1 the first European League”, declared Jean-Michel Aulas at the end of a working meeting around the future professional women’s football league (LPFF), Tuesday February 6, at the headquarters of the French Football Federation (FFF). Alongside Jean-Michel Aulas, vice-president of the FFF and president of the women’s high level commission, all the presidents of D1 and D2 were present, including Olivier Letang (Lille), Pablo Longoria (OM) or even Marc Keller (Strasbourg).

Franceinfo: What first reaction do you have at the end of this meeting?

Jean-Michel Aulas : I am very satisfied with the presence of the presidents, who are almost all there. It’s still a performance. A few years ago, I don’t think we would have had full assistance from the presidents of D1 and D2 concerned. It was a very good meeting, they all want to participate in our D1 Arkema. We may also be looking to change the name in the future. We want to make it the first European League. And for that, we need to structure now. Twenty years ago, when England launched the Premier League, the idea was to have several clubs capable of winning the title. We want to have five to six clubs playing for the title. We must therefore attract TV rights as England did for boys. This is the project we are trying to set up.

Do you feel the presidents of Ligue 1 clubs are more receptive?

There is an evolution, but it doesn’t surprise me. When I arrived at the ECA (European Club Association), I was in charge of the women’s sections and there were hardly any big clubs that had a women’s section. Today, the top twenty major European clubs have a women’s section and are fighting to win the Champions League. We are leaving for France a little late, but we are number 1 in the UEFA club rankings ahead of the English and the other nations. This season, we had three clubs qualify for the European Cup (Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique Lyonnais and Paris FC). We have, in front of us, really receptive presidents.

Are they ready to put their hand in their pocket?

The French Football Federation has organized itself to help. In terms of the club license, they are asked to meet a certain number of constraints and in particular to play matches in stadiums which allow good quality broadcasts. We also help them at the training centers. But the presidents also know that European competitions are profitable.

What about salaries? Some players still receive fairly low salaries.

There are fewer and fewer of them. We have a salary scale that has evolved, we are finishing discussions with the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) on the different aspects of the collective agreement. On salaries, we practically agree. We have evolved a lot, we are moving towards a 100% professional world.

Money remains the crux of the matter, what are you putting in place so that this professional League has the means?

First we made a plan. We got help from the best marketing and strategy firms. I visit large French companies in the CAC 40, to encourage them to come and join us. And we will welcome all the major French brands as best as possible and with great efficiency. All companies reflect on parity, but also on the expression of values. And women’s football is there to express values ​​that are complementary to men’s football, but which are demanded by everyone. We see television audiences increasing. In the stadiums, even if we have come a long way, it is also increasing. We have a very strong desire for popularity.

What are the next goals?

In the short term, the establishment of the LPFF from a legal point of view. We would have six or seven people specialized in the LPFF. The kick-off is July 1, 2024. We will take care of the professionalization of the D2, with a license which will apply to this championship, as was the case last year with the D1 . There are a certain number of hypotheses still to be discussed with the clubs, including the expansion of D1. I would like us to be all the big French men’s clubs in this women’s D1.

On merit?

Preferably on merit. Afterwards, these are decisions that I do not control, because they are legal decisions by definition. But joining a club directly in Division 1 doesn’t shock me.