The French Football Federation (FFF) will not support Gianni Infantino's campaign for a new term as FIFA president, the federation's president Philippe Diallo announced on Thursday, September 10, following a meeting of its executive committee. Infantino is seeking re-election to the presidency of world football's governing body in March 2027.
The FFF's decision puts it alongside other European federations, including Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Scotland, which have already withdrawn their support for Infantino. He has been weakened in recent weeks after a plan to open the World Cup to private investors, which he later dropped, though no rival candidate has yet emerged to challenge him for the presidency.
FFF statement on withdrawing support
The FFF said that while it had initially backed Infantino, then the only declared candidate to succeed himself, the conditions for that support were no longer met. The federation said a series of events directly involving FIFA's governance and its president had taken place since it gave its backing on June 29, and that these ran completely counter to the basic principles of good governance and the values of football.
The federation said Infantino's recent initiatives had seriously damaged the image and unity of football.
The FFF called for the drawing up of a project for world football that would launch a deep reform of FIFA's governance while continuing to develop the sport by combining excellence and solidarity.
Wider tensions at FIFA
The dispute over Infantino's leadership follows the dismissal of Kevin Lamour, FIFA's number three French official, after he criticised Infantino, according to the federation's own reporting on the crisis.
What happens next
The FFF said it would begin, in the coming days, a cycle of consultations with French and international figures whose expertise and standing in matters of governance, extending beyond sport, are widely recognised.
