The French Football Federation said Thursday that it was withdrawing support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term, escalating pressure on the head of football’s governing body ahead of his planned reelection campaign in March 2027.
The FFF said its decision followed Infantino’s abandoned proposal to sell stakes in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors. France had pledged support for Infantino in June, before the investment proposal emerged.
France is a founding member of FIFA, and its intervention adds weight to a challenge that had already drawn several European federations. England, Italy, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales have withdrawn their support for Infantino. Belgium, Italy, Scotland, Sweden and Wales have also publicly stated that they no longer back him.
The dispute now extends beyond the failed investment proposal. The FFF said that, even after Infantino dropped the plan, “FIFA's governance cannot be considered resolved”.
Philippe Diallo, the FFF president, said: “FIFA's governance does not live up to the standards that football represents”.
He also said: “A project with such a significant impact on the future of football could not be envisaged without comprehensive information, in-depth consultation and a fully transparent decision-making process”.
The federation has said it will begin talks with confederations, national associations, players, supporters and governance experts on reforming FIFA. It has yet to set out the specific changes it will seek through those consultations.
Infantino has faced increasing calls to leave office over the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, the North American governing body, have called for him to step down. UEFA also threatened to boycott every FIFA competition if the investment plan went ahead.
The split in football’s leadership is regional. Infantino continues to have the support of Conmebol, South America’s governing body, and CAF, African football’s governing body. The European withdrawals and calls for his departure have therefore not produced a unified position across FIFA’s confederations.
Infantino is preparing to seek a third consecutive term in March 2027. It remains unclear whether he will stay in the race, whether further national associations will change position, or how support from Conmebol and CAF will affect the election.
For the FFF, the immediate investment scheme may have been abandoned, yet the governance questions behind it remain open. Its withdrawal turns France’s earlier pledge of support into a demand for a wider review of how FIFA takes decisions on issues affecting the future of the game.
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