Diallo brands Infantino World Cup stake plan ‘troubling’ as French FA chief demands answers from FIFA

Philippe Diallo has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of pushing a “worrying” and opaque project to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investment funds, warning it raises fundamental questions over the future of football’s flagship tournament and global governance of the game.

The French Football Federation (FFF) president told French daily L’Equipe that, like the rest of world football, he only learned of the proposal through media reports, after details of the plan were revealed by British newspaper The Times, and said FIFA had provided no prior information to his organisation.

Asked for his view on Infantino’s project, Diallo said: “هو مشروع مقلق ويثير الكثير من التساولات. اكتشفناه عبر الصحافة، دون ان نحصل على اي معلومات. لا نعرف فلسفته، ولا ضرورته، ولا التركيبة المالية، ولا مصادر تمويله. هذا المشروع مقلق لانه يفتقر الى التفاصيل، وهو يمس احد الاصول الاساسية لكرة القدم، وهي كاس العالم، اكبر مسابقة رياضية في العالم”.

Diallo underlined that the proposed deal, which would involve selling parts of the World Cup’s commercial rights to private funds, touches what he described as one of the sport’s core assets and therefore cannot be treated as a routine financial operation.

Concerns over governance and recent FIFA decisions

The FFF chief said the uncertainty surrounding the plan comes on top of existing unease over how FIFA is being run and how major decisions are taken under Infantino.

He recalled that he had already challenged FIFA over the way World Cup revenues are distributed to national teams, saying he considered the current system to be “somewhat unfair”.

“بالتاكيد، هو مصدر قلق. سبق ان تدخلت بشان شروط توزيع عايدات كاس العالم على المنتخبات، لانني كنت اجدها غير عادلة الى حد ما. هذا المشروع، لا نعرف من اين جاء. وهناك احداث مختلفة، مثل الغاء البطاقة الحمراء لبالوجون (بطلب من دونالد ترامب)، ومشروع الانتقال الى 64 منتخبا بعد 48، او بعض التراكيب المالية، وهو ما يتطلب اعادة النظر في هذه الحوكمة، التي ليست على مستوى ما تمثله كرة القدم”.

Diallo grouped the World Cup stake proposal with a series of other controversial episodes he believes highlight deeper governance problems at FIFA.

Among them, he cited the reversal of a red card shown to a player named Balogun, which he said came “at the request of Donald Trump”, as well as a project to move from 48 to 64 participating national teams at the World Cup and what he termed “certain financial structures”.

He argued that, taken together, these issues mean FIFA’s decision-making and oversight mechanisms “are not at the level of what football represents”, and should now be re-examined.

2027 FIFA election and demand for transparency

Infantino is currently expected to stand unopposed for re-election as FIFA president in March 2027, with a large majority of member associations having already indicated they plan to back him for another term.

Diallo acknowledged that support, particularly outside Europe, but said it did not remove the need for rigorous scrutiny.

“افريقيا واسيا اعلنتا بالفعل انهما ستصوتان مجددا لانفانتينو، نعم. يجب علينا بناء علاقة صارمة مع الفيفا، ونحن لسنا عند هذا المستوى حاليا. هناك ايضا تساولات ومساءلة. ودول اخرى تجري نفس التاملات التي اجريها انا”.

Pressed on whether the FFF would vote for Infantino in 2027, Diallo made clear that, from his perspective, the current conditions around FIFA elections are insufficient.

“لا يمكن ان تكون هناك انتخابات جديدة دون مزيد من التوضيح والديمقراطية والشفافية”، قال رييس الاتحاد الفرنسي، مشيرا الى انه يتوقع مستوى اعلى من الشفافية الموسسية قبل ان يتمكن من اتخاذ موقف نهايي بشان التصويت.

Europe’s role and global doubts over World Cup plan

Diallo rejected any suggestion that criticism of Infantino’s World Cup investment initiative is simply a clash between Europe and the rest of the world.

He stressed that concerns are shared beyond UEFA, pointing specifically to the North and Central American confederation.

“اتحاد كونكاكاف يتساءل ايضا عن هذا المشروع الجديد. هناك مطلب جديد يظهر. اوروبا لها شرعية في التعبير عن صوتها. 6 من اصل 8 فرق في ربع النهايي كانت اوروبية في كاس العالم الاخيرة (و3 من اصل 4 في نصف النهايي: اسبانيا وفرنسا وانجلترا). يمكنها التعبير عن قيمها، حتى لو لم تشاركها كل الاتحادات الاخرى”.

By highlighting that six of the eight quarter-finalists at the last World Cup were European, and three of the four semi-finalists were Spain, France and England, Diallo argued that Europe has both competitive weight and legitimacy when it raises concerns about football’s direction.

At the same time, he emphasised that other confederations are also seeking explanations about Infantino’s vision and the implications of handing parts of the World Cup’s commercial model to private investors.

Diallo’s intervention adds to mounting pressure on FIFA to clarify the philosophy, necessity, financing structure and sources of funding behind the proposed World Cup stake sale, amid growing scrutiny over how the organisation balances commercial expansion with the protection of the game’s most prestigious tournament.