France breaks ranks with Infantino ahead of FIFA presidential election in Rabat

The French Football Federation (FFF) has withdrawn its support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino ahead of the 2027 FIFA presidential election, which will be held in Rabat, Morocco, on March 18.

The decision was unanimously approved by the FFF executive committee at a meeting in Paris on Thursday, with federation president Philippe Diallo saying confidence in Infantino’s leadership had been damaged.

“With my colleagues on the executive committee, we consider that in a certain way, the trust placed in the FIFA president has been broken,” Diallo stated, adding that the current approach to global football governance “no longer corresponds to us.”

France’s decision adds to growing opposition to Infantino among major European football associations, with Sweden, Scotland, Italy and Belgium having already withdrawn their support. Hungarian FIFA vice-president Sándor Csányi has also taken a similar position.

France joins growing opposition to Infantino

The disagreement centres largely on Infantino’s style of governance and several of his policy proposals, including a controversial plan, since withdrawn, to open the World Cup to private investors through the creation of a commercial entity with a 20% private stake.

The FIFA president has faced increasing calls to step down, with opposition also emerging from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF.

Despite the growing resistance, Infantino confirmed on Sunday that he intends to seek another term as FIFA president.

His position remains strengthened by the continued backing of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), making the continent an important part of the political landscape ahead of the election in Morocco.

FFF begins search for preferred candidate

Diallo said France believed it had a responsibility to take a position because of its history and influence within world football.

The FFF is a founding member of FIFA, while France has remained among the world’s top three-ranked teams for much of the past decade.

Diallo said the federation therefore felt compelled to act “clearly in the general interest of football.”

Infantino remains the only officially declared candidate for the presidency so far, although possible challengers are beginning to emerge.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is among those being linked with a potential challenge, while the FFF has confirmed that it will now begin internal consultations to determine which candidate it will support.

With the election set to take place in Rabat, Morocco, the growing divide between FIFA’s leadership and several influential federations is likely to make the race for the presidency a major talking point across African and world football.