French soccer federation withdraws support for Infantino

The French Football Federation has unanimously withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president, saying a proposed plan to place World Cup and other competition rights in a company open to outside investors exposed broader governance and transparency concerns.

The FFF executive committee made the decision in Paris on September 10, less than three months after it backed Infantino on June 29, when he was described as the only candidate for re-election. The FIFA presidential election is scheduled for March 18, 2027, in Rabat, Morocco.

What France changed

The federation said the conditions behind its June endorsement were no longer present. It linked the reversal to developments involving FIFA’s governance and Infantino’s leadership, including the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise.

The FFF said a project with such an impact on football’s future required comprehensive information, meaningful consultation and a fully transparent decision-making process. It said FIFA’s governance did not meet those standards and called for fundamental reform developed with confederations, national associations, players, supporters and other stakeholders.

The federation also said it would begin consultations with French and international experts on governance, with the stated aim of restoring confidence, improving transparency and strengthening the independence of world football’s governing body.

The proposal at the center of the dispute

The proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise was publicly described as a commercial company that could include rights connected to the World Cup and other FIFA competitions while allowing outside investors to buy ownership stakes. The plan was proposed, not completed.

UEFA said FIFA had confirmed that the project was permanently withdrawn. The FFF likewise described the proposal as definitively abandoned, but said ending the project did not settle the underlying governance dispute.

The Associated Press reported that the plan involved a proposed sale of stakes in World Cup rights and that FIFA withdrew it after intense opposition. The available records do not establish that any transaction was completed.

UEFA’s broader challenge

UEFA and its 55 national associations said on July 30 that they unanimously rejected private ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions. UEFA warned that European national teams would not participate in FIFA competitions while the proposal remained alive unless it was abandoned and binding assurances were provided.

On August 27, UEFA said it would provisionally suspend that withdrawal threat after FIFA provided assurances that the project had been withdrawn. UEFA said the immediate participation dispute had eased, but that the wider crisis remained unresolved.

European football leaders called for an independent external review of FIFA Forward Enterprise, with access to relevant documents, communications and decision-making records. They also demanded limits on presidential authority and said that, if Infantino sought another mandate, UEFA would work with partner confederations to offer member associations a credible alternative.

Those statements are UEFA’s assessment of the dispute, not independent findings that misconduct occurred. The available records establish that the proposal was abandoned and that European officials are seeking further review and reform; they do not show that FIFA has accepted all of UEFA’s demands.

Election timetable and next test

FIFA has confirmed that Infantino intends to stand for re-election. He announced his candidacy at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver on May 1, 2026. The election is scheduled for the FIFA Congress in Rabat on March 18, 2027.

France’s withdrawal is political pressure, not an election result, and no challenger has been identified in the records reviewed for this article.

For fans, the immediate effect is unlikely to be a change to competition schedules. The more consequential questions concern who controls FIFA’s commercial rights, how development resources are governed and whether member associations can hold senior leadership accountable.

The abandoned investment proposal has removed the immediate trigger for a European participation dispute. It has not removed the institutional conflict over transparency, presidential power and the future direction of world football.

Sources

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