French Football Association announces withdrawal of support for FIFA President Infantino

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Song-ah = The French Football Association (FFF) also publicly announced its withdrawal of support for Gianni Infantino, president of the International Football Association (FIFA) Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), who has faced strong backlash from the soccer community due to controversy surrounding the management of competitions such as the World Cup.

FFF issued a statement on the 10th (local time), saying, "Today, the executive committee met in Paris and unanimously decided not to support Infantino ahead of the FIFA presidential election to be held in Rabat, Morocco in March 2027."

FFF explained, "We initially supported Infantino, who was the sole candidate at the time, but the prerequisites for maintaining that support were not met. Since expressing support on June 29, there have been a series of incidents that are directly related to FIFA's governance or president and directly conflict with the basic principles of governance or the values ​​of soccer."

In July, Chairman Infantino faced backlash from the soccer world when he announced plans to establish a subsidiary dedicated to the management of tournaments such as the World Cup and then sell 20% of the stake to an American private fund.

The plan was soon withdrawn, but demands for resignation were received from the European Football Confederation (UEFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the North, Central, American and Caribbean Football Confederation (CONCACAF), and individual countries were even declaring their withdrawal of support.

FFF also pointed out that the decision-making process was not transparent in relation to attempts to sell shares in major tournaments such as the World Cup, and criticized "FIFA's governance does not meet the standards that soccer should represent."

“Thanks to a joint response within UEFA in cooperation with several other continental federations, this project was finally scrapped, but the issue of FIFA governance still cannot be considered resolved,” he added.

At the same time, FFF added, "We urge the establishment of a world football plan that will fundamentally reform FIFA governance and continue the development of football through consultations with continental federations, national football associations, and all stakeholders (players, fans, etc.)," ​​and added, "We will begin consultations with domestic and foreign figures recognized for their expertise in governance beyond sports."

While President Infantino recently reaffirmed that there is no change in his intention to run for election, foreign media also reported that there are no problems with his path to a fourth term.

Citing multiple sources, Reuters said, "President Infantino appears to have secured enough votes to be re-elected, which means his opponents will have to change their strategy and focus on limiting his power," adding, "It is a complete reversal of the expectations of senior football figures who thought his position would be untenable."