French Football Federation withdraws support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino ahead of 2027 election

Unanimous withdrawal of backing

The executive committee of the French Football Federation voted unanimously in Paris on September 10, 2026, to withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino. The decision reverses backing that the federation had formalised at the end of June 2026. FFF president Philippe Diallo announced the outcome following the committee meeting, stating that the federation's trust in the FIFA president had been broken. Diallo stated that Infantino had become a divisive presence whose leadership damaged the image of global football.

“From July onwards, the conditions which led to us to support his candidacy had been disrupted. Does the withdrawal of the project solve the issue? I don't think so. His initiatives during and after the World Cup have seriously damaged the image and the unity of football. As a result, we believe that trust has been broken.”

Commercial plans and tournament controversies

The shift in stance follows opposition to Infantino's initiative to sell commercial stakes in future World Cup tournaments to external investors. That investment proposal emerged in July 2026 and was scrapped after widespread resistance across European football. Diallo also pointed to disciplinary interventions during the World Cup, where FIFA overturned a match suspension for United States forward Folarin Balogun following direct representations from US President Donald Trump. FIFA defended that ruling at the time as a balanced measure taken under its applicable disciplinary regulations.

Governance reform and consultations

The French federation announced plans to hold consultations with French and international corporate governance specialists to formulate structural reform proposals for FIFA. These discussions will include Kevin Lamour, a former FIFA official dismissed under Infantino's tenure. France framed its intervention around its status as a founding member of FIFA and a consistent top-three team in the world rankings over the last decade. The FFF joins several other European federations that have withdrawn backing for Infantino, including England, Wales, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, and Scotland.

“France is one of the founding members of Fifa, and as such we have a historical legitimacy to intervene when we feel that Fifa and its president are deviating from our vision of how world football should be run. We also have sporting legitimacy, as one of the top three teams in the world rankings over the last 10 years. We wanted to make it clear that we refuse to go in a direction which does not correspond to the general interest of our sport.”

Electoral arithmetic ahead of Rabat

Infantino has led FIFA since 2016 and remains a candidate for another term at the elective congress scheduled for March 18, 2027, in Rabat. Despite mounting opposition across Europe and South America, the incumbent holds a large voting base under FIFA's one-association, one-vote structure. Support from the Confederation of African Football and the Asian Football Confederation accounts for between 130 and 140 votes out of FIFA's 211 member associations. European governing body UEFA previously raised the possibility of boycotting FIFA competitions over governance concerns, creating friction between the sport's largest commercial markets and the voting majority.