French Football Federation withdraws support for Infantino's re-election as FIFA President

The French Football Federation announced on Thursday that it will not support the candidacy of Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino for a new term as head of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in the elections scheduled for March 2027.

With this decision, France joins a number of European federations that have also withdrawn their support for Infantino, including Belgium, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Earlier last week, FIFA confirmed that Infantino would run for the presidency, despite a wave of criticism directed at him over his plan—which he later abandoned—to introduce private investments into both the men’s and women’s World Cup tournaments.

Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, said in a statement: “We believe that the trust granted to the FIFA president has been betrayed, and that the approach taken in envisioning the governance of global football no longer reflects our values.”

The French Football Federation’s decision, though expected, is likely to embarrass Infantino.

Diallo added that France possesses “historical legitimacy, as one of the founding countries of FIFA, and has the right to intervene when it feels that FIFA and its president are straying from the correct path in managing global football.”