Rama Yade denies seeking invitation to Brazil World Cup with French government
Paris, 16 May 2025
Former Secretary of State for Sports Rama Yade has addressed speculation about whether she sought an official invitation from the French government to attend the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
In a recent interview on i>Télé, Yade clarified her comments, emphasizing that her earlier remarks were made in jest. “I’m not asking for anything at all. I don’t know how it’s possible that someone could take an ironic joke for an official approach,” she said. Yade, who is currently campaigning to succeed Jean-Louis Borloo as head of the Radical Party, added: “I don’t have the time or the ability. Every day I’m in a different town in France. I’d like to, eh! But I’m on an election campaign. And you don’t just invite yourself into delegations like that.”
The controversy arose after comments she made on the same channel, which some interpreted as a request for an invitation.
Meanwhile, France’s current Minister of Sports Najat Vallaud-Belkacem responded on RMC radio, clarifying the government’s position. “She is well placed to know that it is not the French government that organizes the World Cup. It is FIFA. So the French government does not have much room for manoeuvre,” Vallaud-Belkacem said. She added that when invitations are extended for competitions held in France, priority is given to young people who have never had access to such opportunities.
The exchange highlights the sensitivity around official delegations attending major international sporting events, particularly with France preparing for the tournament in Brazil.
