French federation pulls backing for FIFA chief Infantino

France has become the latest major football nation to withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election bid as FIFA president, deepening the pressure on the Swiss official ahead of next year’s vote.

The French Football Federation announced the decision on Thursday, joining Belgium, Italy, Scotland, Sweden and Wales in publicly breaking with Infantino. FIFA confirmed last weekend that Infantino will seek another term at an election set for March 2027, even as anger over his now shelved plan to bring private investors into the men’s and women’s World Cups continues to simmer.

Federation president Philippe Diallo said the organization’s members reached the decision unanimously. He stated that the trust placed in the FIFA president has suffered a breach and that the current direction of world football governance no longer matches the federation’s values. Diallo said those reasons led the French federation to pull its backing for Infantino’s candidacy.

Diallo argued that France carries particular weight in these matters because it ranks among FIFA’s founding nations, which he said gives it standing to speak out when it senses FIFA’s leadership drifting off course. He also pointed to the country’s sporting record, noting that the French men’s team has sat among the top three in the FIFA world rankings for the past decade.

At 56, Infantino remains the only declared candidate for the presidency so far, though CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is widely expected to mount a challenge. Montagliani, a FIFA vice president, had long been counted among Infantino’s allies, but observers noticed him pulling back even before the investment scheme collapsed.

The controversy that triggered this wave of defections traces back to late July, when FIFA unveiled plans for a commercial subsidiary under its FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative that would have let outside investors buy stakes in a company overseeing marquee events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. The proposal drew swift criticism from national federations and continental bodies alike, forcing FIFA to abandon it within weeks.

European football’s governing body responded to the plan by threatening to boycott FIFA competitions altogether. It has since suspended that threat but continues to press Infantino to step down and has reportedly been preparing legal action against him over allegations of mismanagement.

The French federation said it will now launch a consultation process to decide which candidate to back against Infantino once the field takes shape. The presidential vote will take place at the FIFA Congress in Rabat, the Moroccan capital.

Not every corner of the football world has turned on Infantino. Saudi Arabia, set to host the 2034 World Cup, voiced support for him last month, and both the Confederation of African Football and South America’s CONMEBOL have also stood by the incumbent, underscoring how the contest is shaping up along regional lines rather than a unified front against him.

The dispute reflects a broader pattern in international sports governance, where growing commercial ambitions inside global federations increasingly collide with member associations wary of ceding control over flagship competitions. Similar tensions have surfaced in other sports as governing bodies chase private capital to fund expansion, only to face pushback from stakeholders concerned about transparency and long term control. How the FIFA presidential race unfolds over the coming months will likely test how much influence Europe’s football powers still hold within an organization whose center of gravity has shifted toward emerging football markets in recent years.