{"id":37076,"date":"2023-03-03T13:05:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T18:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=37076"},"modified":"2023-03-03T13:05:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T18:05:22","slug":"all-about-womens-sports-leading-french-players-withdraw-from-national-team-before-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2023\/03\/03\/all-about-womens-sports-leading-french-players-withdraw-from-national-team-before-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"All About Women’s Sports: Leading French Players Withdraw From National Team Before World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Claire Guest<\/em><\/p>\n

Wendie Renard, the captain of the French Women\u2019s National Team, stepped away from the team last week in the midst of final preparations for the World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

In announcing her decision, Renard indicated she needed to preserve her mental health and <\/span>\u201ccan no longer support the current system, which is far from the requirements of the highest level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The 32-year-old French player has been playing for the international team since 2011 and <\/span>has 142 appearances. She also plays in France professionally with Olympique Lyon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI defend the blue, white and red jersey 142 times with passion, respect, commitment and professionalism,\u201d Renard stated on social media, \u201cI love France more than anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Renard is recognized as one of the best defenders in the world, but has stated she will not play for this team as long as the head coach Corinne Diacre remains in charge of the French team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Diacre stripped Renard\u2019s captain role after their exit in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Euros, yet Renard was rewarded with this leadership role again in 2021 and has been captain ever since. This confusion created by Diacre was a component in Renard\u2019s exit from the team due to her poor mental health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, I will not be playing in this World Cup under such conditions. My face may hide the pain, but my heart is suffering\u2026 and I don\u2019t want to suffer anymore,\u201d Renard said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly after Renard shared her statement on social media, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani also left the team and called for \u201cnecessary change\u201d in the French team\u2019s management. These two Paris Saint-Germain players have a combined cap total of 114, both contributing critical goals for the French team in international play.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Tournoi de France earlier this month, France defeated Denmark and Uruguay and tied Norway, earning the tournament championship. Renard started all three games, Diani two of them, while Katoto was out recovering from an ACL tear.<\/span><\/p>\n

The absence of these three incredible players and leaders going forward will undoubtedly change the profile and strength of the French team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even before Renard\u2019s bold decision, many current and former French players had raised concerns about Diacre, including recently retired goalie, Sarah Bouhaddi, and former captain, Amandie Henry. Like Renard, those players questioned the French team\u2019s direction and suggested poor player treatment and management.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw players crying,\u201d Henry said, commenting after the 2019 World Cup, \u201cI personally cried in my own room sometimes. I wanted to enjoy the World Cup, but in the end, it was total chaos.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Diacre has routinely criticized her players and created a toxic playing environment, ultimately leading to the best French players leaving the team. Her frequent critical treatment of players and questioning their effort and commitment, but then she would make poor playing time decisions based on personal biases, led to a problematic environment. It corrupted the team\u2019s morale and alienated players.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite these criticisms and player defections, the French Football Association has continued to support Coach Diacre and has even extended her contract through 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

The World Cup will be held in New Zealand and Australia this summer starting on July 20.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

France\u2019s team is ranked fifth overall in FIFA, slightly ahead of Canada and Spain, who are rated sixth and seventh respectively. Canadian and Spanish players are also protesting their teams\u2019 management over similar poor working conditions, such as their lack of funding, creating a poor working atmosphere, and unequal pay and treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Female athletes around the world deserve coaches who push them to excel but do so encouragingly and productively. That is not only the right way to treat people and players, but also the most effective way to get the most out of people, in sports or any field.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Claire Guest Wendie Renard, the captain of the French Women\u2019s National Team, stepped away from the team last week in the midst of final preparations for the World Cup. In announcing her decision, Renard indicated she needed to preserve her mental health and \u201ccan no longer support the current system, which is far from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21488,"featured_media":37080,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1035,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37076"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21488"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37076"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37079,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37076\/revisions\/37079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}