Basketball: Valérie Garnier will quit her position as manager of the Blue

Published on : 09/03/2021 – 18:25

Valérie Garnier will quit her post as coach of the French women’s basketball team, bronze medalist at the Olympic Games, the federation (FFBB) announced on Friday September 3.

The 56-year-old former international player, who took over from Pierre Vincent in 2013, also won four European silver medals during her eight years on the bench.

“The FFBB is currently carrying out a reflection on the new constitution of the technical staff of the French team, in consultation with the national technical director, Alain Contensoux, the performance director and the French teams, Jacques Commères, and the General Manager, Céline Dumerc “, specifies the federation in a press release.

The new team will be in place for the qualifiers for Euro-2023 and the 2022 World Cup, which begin in November and then in February respectively.

The Paris Olympics in the sights

“All the tracks will be studied in order to guarantee the results of the French women’s team in the competitions to come and to maintain its status at the highest international level, in particular in the perspective of the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028” , adds the FFBB.

“Our paths separate today in order to give a new dynamic to the national team, while Paris-2024 is looming on the horizon. The France team remains more ambitious than ever and will seek to win a title which it escapes since 2009 “, specifies the president of the federation, Jean-Pierre Siutat, in this press release.

Since its second European title in 2009, the French women’s team has lost five finals. Valérie Garnier was Pierre Vincent’s assistant for the first at the 2012 Olympics and then in post for the next four in the European Championship (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021).

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At the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the Blue managed to win bronze by winning the match for third place against Serbia (91-76), after suffering the law of the Japanese in the semi-final (87-71).

Valérie Garnier, triple champion of France as a player with Mirande and then again as a coach with Bourges, could continue to work for the federation.

“We wish to think about entrusting him with missions within the FFBB in order to continue to benefit from his expertise and his ability to transmit”, indicates Alain Contensoux in the FFBB press release.

With AFP