France/LFP Media: Nicolas de Tavernost set to step down as CEO following loss of 2026 World Cup TV rights

"It is essential that everyone contributes to the success of Ligue 1+, but that does not seem to be the case at the moment. I do not want to develop a project if there is no harmony between all the clubs. I am not the right person for the job under these circumstances, therefore am stepping down," said said Nicolas de Tavernost, managing director of LFP Media, to the French daily Le Monde on 11/02/2026, confirming comments made during a board meeting of the Ligue de Football Professionnel a few hours earlier.

The former chairman of the board of M6 is considering stepping down due to the loss of the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup, which he thought he had acquired from FIFA (for around €19.5m, including €2.5m in production costs, according to L'Equipe) for the Ligue 1+ platform, but which were ultimately awarded to beIN SPORTS France (for approximately €27m, with the Qatari group also securing the 2030 World Cup for €34m, again according to L'Equipe) in a process that Nicolas de Tavernost deemed "abnormal." "We had entered a period of approval. FIFA was supposed to review…