French Football Federation look back on successful Euros

The 2016 European Championships ended less than two weeks ago – with many sports business experts saying it was the most challenging tournament ever to host.

France held the tournament in a midst of a security crisis, with the country having suffered terrorists attacks shortly before, and shortly after, the event.

France’s top priority was to ensure the tournament would not suffer a similar atrocity – and security was high across the venues.

Although there was some violence between fans, something Russia told iSportconnect they would look into improving for 2018, the French Football Federation were relieved that security stood firm, in what they worried be an inviting target for extremists.

Romauld Nguyen is Head of Institutional and International Affairs at the ‎French Football Federation, he was pleased with the security at the tournament.

He said: “Security issues have been identified as a potential issue since the bidding period, since the Paris attacks and it is something that doesn’t discriminate, it can happen anytime, any place to anyone.”

“We are happy as this has been a very national popular party, we had a lot of festivity, we hosted the International community in a really friendly environment, the result of the national team is beyond what we thought; which was the semi-finals.”

The tournament was the first European Championships to consist of 24 teams, with an expanded tournament Nguyen explained the key things he had discovered, and how the French Football Federation are hoping to use the event to develop even further.

“The main lessons we’ve learned are that working together can bring us to unforgettable moments. By working together I mean the State of France, the ministry, as well with UEFA, hosting cities, the national associations who attended and their supporters.

“The seven years of work we have done has made it unforgettable. This month has been a great experience but what we will enjoy the most is the 20 years of legacy we will have for our volunteers, stadiums and what we call generation 2016.”

“Having a successful team helps, but what we have done over the years and in this Euros, we will never forget it and it was already a success before the competition.”

France will host the 2019 Women’s World Cup, with the focus now switching from a logistical point of view to that tournament and developing that next major event. Nguyen continued:

“The next major step is developing the practice and thinking about youth for the next generation, but the biggest event we will host is the 2019 Women’s World Cup, we need to focus on equality of gender and make sure everyone gets equal access to football.”

While France were unsuccessful in terms of winning the tournament, perhaps in terms of the staging of the event and the overall security, they can take some victory from Euro 2016.

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