The French Football Federation (FFF) withdrew its support for Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, football's world governing body, after its executive committee met on Thursday at the federation's headquarters. The FFF confirmed it is now joining thirteen other European federations that have rallied behind Alexander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, European football's governing body.
In a statement, the FFF said it had initially backed Infantino when he was the only declared candidate to succeed himself, but that the conditions for that support no longer applied. The federation said a series of events involving FIFA's governance and its president had come to light since it gave its backing on 29 June, and that these events directly contradicted the basic principles of good governance and the values of football.
The federation pointed specifically to an abandoned plan to set up a commercial company that would have sold part of the FIFA World Cup's rights to private investors. Those investors were said to include Josh Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and former adviser of US President Donald Trump.
World Cup rights plan scrapped
The FFF said the project had ultimately been abandoned following a coordinated response from within UEFA in conjunction with several other confederations. However, it added that the question of FIFA's governance could not be considered resolved simply because the plan had been dropped.
Led by its president, Philippe Diallo, the federation called for a project for world football to be drawn up in consultation with confederations, national federations and stakeholders including players and supporters. It said the aim was to launch a thorough reform of FIFA's governance and to keep developing football by combining excellence with solidarity.
Consultations planned in coming days
The FFF said it would begin a round of consultations in the coming days with French and international figures recognised for their expertise in governance, extending beyond sport. According to the federation, the goal is to help identify a candidate willing to challenge Infantino, whom the report referred to by the nickname "Don Gianni", and to draw up proposals for a deep transformation of FIFA's governance aimed at restoring trust, strengthening transparency and guaranteeing the independence and good conduct of world football's governing body.
Diallo had been among the first officials to publicly oppose Infantino's commercial rights project, arguing that a decision with such an impact on the future of football could not be taken without full information, thorough consultation and a completely transparent decision-making process. He reportedly waited for Thursday's executive committee meeting, and consultation with all its members, before formally confirming the federation's shift to the opposing camp.
Ceferin seeks a unified front
Behind the scenes of world football, a wider struggle is under way to unseat Infantino. Ceferin, who is increasingly expected to seek a further four-year term as UEFA president, is reportedly working to keep all 55 European federations united behind a single position ahead of FIFA's presidential election on 27 March.
Although the FFF has announced its own consultation process, the report suggests the campaign against Infantino is already well advanced and that a challenger has effectively already emerged: Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, the governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean. Montagliani had initially been expected to succeed Infantino after a final term for the Swiss-Italian official, rather than run against him now.
