In July, the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup will get underway, with 32 teams taking part in it for the first time. Among them will be France, who were knocked out in the quarter-finals four years ago and will naturally be hoping to improve on that performance this time around.
However, Les Bleues are currently in the midst of a major crisis. Last month, skipper Wendie Renard announced that she would not be taking part in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup as she felt that the "current system [did not meet] requirements [expected] at the highest level [of football]".
Renard, who has earned over 140 caps for France during her time with the women's senior squad, was joined in the World Cup boycott by PSG's Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who has netted an impressive 26 goals in just 32 appearances, as well as Katoto's PSG colleague Kadidiatou Diani.
Many believed these players' decisions were based on the difficult relationship they, and others, have had with head coach Corinne Diacre over the years.
On March 8th, Diacre lashed out at the media, claiming that the press, in conjunction with France's football federation, were collaborating in a "smear campaign" against her and stated her intention to remain in charge.
Today, it was revealed that France have opted to sack Diacre. The 48-year-old has been in charge of the team since 2017, and has had a conflict-ridden tenure during her six years in charge. Notably, she caused a huge stir due to nasty spats with several of her players, including Renard and Katoto. In Renard's case, Diacre created negative buzz by opting to strip the Lyon defender of the captain's armband in 2017, while two years later, she received more criticism for refusing to call up Katoto, who had finished the season as the top goal-scorer in D1F, for the 2019 FIFA World Cup.
With a bit over four months to go, France will now need to move quickly to find a new manager - and will hope in doing so, convince key players like Renard and Katoto to reverse their decisions ahead before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in July.
