He was the only one in the running. Single candidate for his own succession. But he feared the figures of a vote won in advance. Denis Masseglia was wrong to doubt the confidence of his peers. Elected for the first time at the head of the CNOSF in 2009, to succeed Henri Sérandour, the former president of the French Rowing Federation then won with 76,5% of the votes. This time, his victory was even greater. Reappointed to his post by 40 of the 44 voters on the Board of Directors, this Thursday, May 23, he obtained 78,6% of the votes at the CNOSF General Assembly (396 votes for 63 against and 45 blank). “The adversary would be abstention,” he told us a few days before the election. But she remained silent.
Denis Masseglia wanted his first mandate to be unifying. He sought to “unite”. The figures for his re-election prove that the challenge was met rather well. This time, the former physics professor, aged 66, is embarking on major work. He wants, in his own words, “to renovate the French sporting model. »
The boss of the sports movement aspires to greater autonomy. Clearly, he would like the CNOSF, and with it the National Federations, to be able to live their own lives without the eternal “administrative veil” imposed by the public authorities. Barely re-elected, Denis Masseglia sent a clear message to the Minister of Sports, Valérie Fourneyron, asking for “better consideration of the aspirations of French sport” and a reform of its governance.
“The French sporting model has not evolved in sixty years. We must move forward by taking into account all aspects: training, international influence, high level, practice for all, he says. The current model of French sport does not meet the challenges of tomorrow. »
Among them, a French candidacy for the 2024 Summer Games. The president of the CNOSF does not avoid the subject. But he still mentions it in the conditional: “The 2024 Olympics will perhaps be a construction site but for there to be a candidacy, there must be a real project between three main actors: the State, the territory and the sports movement. This is not at the heart of the immediate concern, and I mean immediate. We will do things step by step. If we want to have the influence of French sport, we must have an international influence. »
After the time of re-election comes the time of major projects. Nothing will be simple. But, Denis Masseglia says it again and again: “It is urgent to get started. »
