Souad Rochdi has been appointed director general of the French Athletics Federation ©FFA

Souad Rochdi has been appointed director general of the French Athletics Federation (FFA) to replace outgoing predecessor Frédéric Sanaur.

The selection of Rochdi, who previously served as deputy to Sanaur, was ratified by the federal bureau of the FFA at a recent meeting in Paris.

An employee of the FFA for 18 years, she also worked as deputy director general of the Paris 2020 European Championships Organising Committee.

She steps into a position vacated by Sanaur, who was named as the prefigurator of the new French National Sport Agency earlier this month.

Rochdi will be tasked with continuing to oversee preparations for the 2020 European Championships, awarded to the French capital in 2017, as well as other administrative issues at the FFA.

Souad Rochdi worked as deputy director general of the 2020 European Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held at the Charléty Stadium in Paris ©Getty Images
Souad Rochdi worked as deputy director general of the 2020 European Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held at the Charléty Stadium in Paris ©Getty Images

She may also provide assistance to organisers of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

"The choice of Frédéric Sanaur by the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, is a great recognition of the work conducted by the FFA in recent months as part of the reflection on the evolution of governance of French sport," said FFA President André Giraud.

"I warmly thank Frederic Sanaur, who will have, during the past year among us, durably print his brand. 

"I do not doubt the success of Souad Rochdi, who knows perfectly the workings of our house and in which I have every confidence to be part of the continuity of the work done in recent months."