The internal struggle for the future of the FIFA added a new chapter this Thursday and once again placed Gianni Infantino at the center of attention. The French Football Federation (FFF) decided to withdraw its support for the Swiss leader ahead of the presidential elections on March 18, 2027, and called for a profound transformation in the way world football is governed.
The decision was made by unanimity by the Executive Committee of the FFF, meeting in Paris. In a statement, the entity explained that, after initially supporting Infantino when he was the only declared candidate, the conditions that had sustained that support changed due to a series of decisions related to the governance of FIFA.
Among the main reasons for their change of stance is the project that Infantino had promoted to create a commercial company (FIFA Forward Enterprise [FFE]) that would include the rights to the World Cup and other FIFA competitions, and allow for the entry of external investors. The initiative, valued at $4.2 billion, generated strong opposition within European football and was ultimately abandoned by the international body itself on Friday, July 31.
The FFF stated that the episode exposed deeper problems and warned that the project "could not be considered without complete information, thorough consultation, and a fully transparent decision-making process". In that same vein, the French federation asserted: "The governance of FIFA is not up to what football represents".
