Laporte targets another term as FFR boss
NEWS: Bernard Laporte told AFP on Tuesday he will run for re-election as French Rugby Federation (FFR) president later this year.
Laporte, 56, who coached Les Bleus between 1999-2007 before becoming the country’s Secretary of State for Sport, faces competition from the chief of Paris’ greater region’s rugby federation Florian Gill.
At the FFR’s annual general meeting on Saturday, Laporte announced an annual loss €5.63-million (US$6.32-million) due to a €35-million relief package for amateur clubs.
“We’ll keep the work going. We started with 44 promises, and we stuck to a lot of them. There are some which are right in the process of being realised, it’s not over,” he told AFP.
“We did a lot for the clubs but we want to continue to listen to the clubs and to be a federation which gives back to the clubs,” he added.
Laporte was named World Rugby’s vice-chairman in May and has also overseen the introduction of the third-tier semi-professional La Nationale league as FFR boss in June.
The next chief of the FFR is set to be named on October 3 with France hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2023.
