The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed on Thursday that Corinne Diacre had been fired as the coach of the France women’s team. Her position had been undermined as a result of a revolt by key players.
After team captain Wendie Renard stated last month that she would no longer play for the team, fellow stars Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto followed suit. The 48-year-old was under contract until 2024 but was put under intense pressure.
The announcement comes little over four months before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, when the fifth-ranked France team will seek to play a significant role.
Following the resignation of its scandal-plagued 81-year-old president Noel Le Graet, the French federation, which is already in crisis, claimed that its own investigation had revealed “a major fracture with senior players” that had “reached a point of no-return that was damaging the team’s interests.”
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Diacre has an impressive résumé, which includes 121 caps won while playing and a ground-breaking three-year tenure as manager of men’s team Clermont in the French second tier.
Yet since since she relieved Renard of the captaincy early in her tenure as France coach, she has been unpopular.
Amandine Henry, a midfielder for Lyon who also captained the team at the 2019 World Cup, has not been involved with the team since late 2020 because of a disagreement with the coach.
The 2019 World Cup was hosted by France, who fell to the United States in the quarterfinals under Diacre.
The European Championship was held in England last year, and Les Bleues fell to Germany in the semifinals.