FIFA confirmed last weekend that Infantino will stand for president in an election next March, despite the backlash over his now-abandoned plan to bring private investment into the men’s and women’s World Cups. The FFF is aligning itself with the position of other European federations such as Belgium, Italy, Scotland, Sweden and Wales, who have also publicly withdrawn support for Infantino. France will not support the candidacy of Gianni Infantino, who is running for a new term as FIFA president in March 2027, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Thursday.
French Football Federation Withdraws Support for Infantino
The French Football Federation (FFF) has officially withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s candidacy for the FIFA presidency. This decision comes after a unanimous vote by its members, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with the current governance of world football. FFF president Philippe Diallo expressed that the trust in Infantino has been compromised, stating, “We believe that the trust placed in the FIFA president has been betrayed, and that the way in which the governance of world football is envisaged no longer reflects us.”
The move by the French federation, while expected, is likely to sting Infantino. He has come under severe pressure since the announcement in late July of proposals to create a commercial subsidiary to run its biggest events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. European football’s governing body UEFA had threatened to boycott FIFA competitions in response.
Infantino replaced Sepp Blatter as president of world football’s governing body in 2016.
Diallo added that France “has a historic legitimacy as one of the founding nations of FIFA, and it has the right to intervene when it has the feeling that FIFA and its president are going off course in their governance of world football”. It later suspended that threat, but has urged Infantino to resign and has been preparing possible legal action against him for alleged “criminal mismanagement”. The FFF said it would begin a consultation process before deciding who to support against Infantino in the election, which will take place at the FIFA Congress to be held in the Moroccan capital Rabat.
