Louis Saha has plenty of experience playing and scoring goals at the highest level of world football. He has represented France at Euro 2004 and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. Now the former Les Bleus frontman has backed the national team to go all the way at Euro 2016 starting tonight—just as they did in their home FIFA World Cup 18 years ago.
“There is the same thinking as in 1998, which can be an advantage,” Saha said in an exclusive interview with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) during a recent trip to Doha.
“Maybe they had a different mentality back then, with 15 leaders in the team. Now it looks like a young side, with a lot of good players, but maybe lacking that kind of leadership quality. Who knows, football is amazing, we have seen Leicester win the Premier League.
“I am not going to say France is going to win, because there are teams like Germany, Spain, Belgium, not to forget England, and other teams who are very strong. I think it will be very tight.”
Looking at France’s attacking line-up for the tournament ahead of their opening match in Paris against Romania, Saha said: “The decision on Benzema was to be expected because of the story, it is not nice to be involved in this kind of thing and when you have an issue within the group it can split the team as has happened in the past.”
“You can understand the choice of the manager, but it is a shame, because Benzema is such a big player, he is one of the three best players for France, so you can imagine what a statement it is to put him out. When you have others out like Nasri, a tremendous player, Ben Arfa, Valbuena, it is sad, but you have to make a selection. We understand that the competition is long and you have to live together, you have to deal with the players as a coach,” he added.
Saha, who was one of the speakers at last month’s World Stadium Congress in Qatar, also pointed out that the 2022 FIFA World Cup would be an opportunity for the entire Arab world to make a statement: “All the Arab countries will try to help and make sure it will be remembered as a really top World Cup. They have the capability of doing it, and it is a matter of putting a great team together. I am sure that the World Cup will be great because the main thing is the fans. If the fans realise that the event has been organised for their needs, there will be no doubts.”
As a graduate of France’s renowned Clairefontaine youth academy, the former Manchester United, Everton and Fulham striker also highlighted the positive work being done for youth development in Qatar.
“The Qatari people understand youth development,” he continued. “They invest a lot in education. They have smart people coming from abroad and from the region to emphasise that, because they know that it is not about petroleum anymore but how to bring a lot of ideas and technology to bring the Arab sports industry up.
“It is brilliant to see how passionate they are about sport. When you compare it to other countries where you have a small budget for sports, it is nice to see that Qatar sees the importance of it.”
He ended by lauding the educational work being done by the Josoor Insitute—a regional centre for excellence for sports industry professionals—in building up the next generation of sports experts from the Middle East.
“It is nice to hear about Josoor Institute. Many organisations are trying to do the same, when you have an academy you try to do that, because the business aspect is very important and you have to do it in the right way. The World Cup attracts so many young players, fans, young people who can be fans and learn on the field in terms of values, spirit and what this tournament means.”

(Louis Saha spoke exclusively to www.sc.qa, the website of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC). The SC is responsible for delivering the tournament venues and projects for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.)