French Athletics Federation

The French Athletics Federation (French: Fédération française d'athlétisme - FFA), is the governing body for the sport of athletics in France.

Fédération française d'athlétisme

Sport	Athletics
Abbreviation	FFA
Founded	November 20, 1920 (1920-11-20)
Affiliation	World Athletics
Affiliation date	1912 (1912)
Regional affiliation	EAA
President	Bernard Amsalem
Secretary	Doris Spira
Replaced	Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques
Official website
www.athle.fr

History

FFA is the heir to the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), founded November 20, 1887. In 1912, a French delegation was present at the conference in Stockholm that founded the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) with 17 national federations.^[1]

Controversies

In August 2024, sprinter Muhammad Abdallah Kounta was suspended by the President of the French Athletics Federation for publishing comments inciting hatred on social media, including inciting hatred against France, white people, Christians, and Jews, as well as support for the Islamist group Hamas.^[2][3][4][5] Among Kounta's posts, he expressed a desire to “kill Little White."^[6]

The Federation President also made a report to the Public Prosecutor, as well as to the Federation's Disciplinary Committee, which will consider banning him permanently.^[6][5][7][8] Île-de-France Regional Councilor Patrick Karam, the right-hand man of the President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse, called for the "heaviest sanctions" to be levied against Kounta, including Kounta's permanent removal by the Federation's Disciplinary Committee.^[9][10]

Organisation

The French Athletics Federation is governed by a president and seven vice-presidents, a general secretary, and a general treasurer.

Board

• President: Bernard Amsalem
• General secretary: Doris Spira

Kit suppliers

France's kits are currently supplied by Asics.

See also

• Athletics in France
• Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques
• French records in athletics

References

1. "Histoire de la FFA" (in French). athle.fr. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
2. Daniel Soriano (15 August 2024). "Athlete Muhammad Kounta penalised for hate speech," Inside the Games.
3. à 13h14, Par Flavien Gagnepain Le 14 août 2024 (14 August 2024). "L'athlète français Muhammad Abdallah Kounta suspendu pour ses « propos choquants » annonce Amélie Oudéa-Castéra". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. "Muhammad Abdallah Kounta suspendu par la Fédération française d'athlétisme après des tweets polémiques". Franceinfo (in French). 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
5. "French Olympic Athlete Kounta Suspended For Inciting Hatred On Social Media," Agence France Presse, August 14, 2024.
6. "Athlete Muhammad Abdallah Kounta prov after discovery of his pro-Hamas and anti-White tweets," Entrevue.fr, August 15, 2024.
7. à 09h15, Par Flavien Gagnepain Le 14 août 2024 (14 August 2024). "L'athlète français Kounta ciblé pour des « propos inacceptables », des « sanctions lourdes » demandées". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
8. JO Paris 2024: critiqué pour des tweets violents contre Israël et la France, Muhammad Abdallah Kounta présente ses excuses, site lefigaro.fr, 14 août 2024.
9. "French athlete Kounta targeted for “unacceptable remarks”, “heavy sanctions” requested," Le Parisien.
10. "Frenchman Muhammad Abdallah Kounta suspended by athletics federation for hate speech – Libération," DaryFR.euro

External links

• (in French) Official site