With four months to go until the World Cup, France were in crisis. Wendie Renard, the French captain, announced that she would not be playing in the tournament. Shortly afterwards, star forwards Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto also withdrew from the team. In an interview, Diani explained that the players had “reached a point of no return” and said there was a lack of professionalism in the France squad, pointing the finger at the head coach Corrine Diacre.
It was far from the first time that Diacre had been involved in a dispute with her players. This time, though, it was the final straw. After Noel Le Graet, the head of the French Football Federation (FFF) and key supporter of Diacre, resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment, Diacre was sacked from her position: the FFF said the “dysfunction” under Diacre was “irreversible”. With Diacre gone, France appointed Herve Renard - the head coach of Saudi Arabia at the men’s World Cup in Qatar. It pathed the way for Renard and Diani to return, as well as the country’s record scorer Eugenie Le Sommer and former captain Amandine Henry - two players who had previously been frozen out by Diacre.
