Escalettes stays on as FFF boss

PARIS (AP) -- Jean-Pierre Escalettes was re-elected as president of the French football federation by an overwhelming majority on Saturday, while former France defender Lilian Thuram won a seat on the FFF's council.

The FFF's federal council voted 95.10 percent in favor of keeping Escalettes in charge, the FFF said on its Web site.

Thuram, who played 142 internationals as a defender and helped France win the 1998 World and European Championship two years later, takes over from UEFA president Michel Platini as the representative for elite sportsmen.

"I am proud that Lilian Thuram is taking over from me on the federal council," Platini told the council Saturday. "French football needs its base and its big players."

Thuram retired from international football after France's group-stage exit at Euro 2008. He hoped to continue at club level with Paris Saint-Germain but stopped playing after medical tests revealed he had a heart condition.

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