French football mourns Jean-Pierre Escalettes

Under his presidency, France's men's national team reached the FIFA World Cup final in 2006 and the association won the bid to host UEFA EURO 2016.

In a statement, the FFF paid tribute: "A deeply respected and much-loved figure in French football, Jean-Pierre Escalettes dedicated his entire life to our sport, which he served with passion, compassion and loyalty."

Born in Béziers but growing up in Bordeaux, Escalettes took regular summer vacations to Bristol and became an English teacher in the 1960s while playing, coaching and working as a director for CA Ribérac in the Dordogne area.

He worked his way up the ranks of grassroots football and was elected president of the Aquitaine football administrative region in 1984, joining the FFF’s board a year later and creating the Ligue du football amateur (Federal Amateur League) in 2000, a body he led for five years.

In 2005, Escalettes was elected as FFF president and served five years in the role, successfully overseeing the French bid to host UEFA EURO 2016 before stepping down in 2010.

Current FFF president Philippe Diallo said: "I pay tribute to a man of principle, a deeply compassionate individual with a profound commitment to the values of football, whose dedication, desire to pass on his knowledge – a legacy of his time as a teacher – his team spirit and devotion to our sport will forever serve as an example to us all."