FSTAL was organized separately from the French Fédération sportive du Travail (FST).
[1] As of 1923 communists had gained the majority in FSTAL, and the organization became affiliated with the Red Sport International (Sportintern).
[1] Sectors dissatisfied with the communist turn inside FSTAL gradually left the organization.
In December 1926, socialists founded the Fédération sportive et gymnastique du Travail d'Alsace et de Lorraine (FSGTAL) in order to counter the influence of FSTAL.
[1] However, in 1929 FSTAL obtained (in spote of its public criticisms against the body) membership in the Lucerne Sport International.