France Withdraw Infantino Support as Pressure to Reform Fifa Grows

France’s football leaders have proposed seeking ways to transform how Fifa is run after the French Football Federation (FFF) became the latest national association to withdraw support for Gianni Infantino’s presidency. The FFF followed England, Italy, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland in pulling its backing on Thursday, all five acting over Infantino’s aborted plan to sell stakes in Fifa competitions — including the World Cup — to private investors. Notably, the FFF had publicly pledged its support for Infantino back in June, before the investment plan was made public.

Why France pulled their support

The FFF withdrew its support over the plan to sell stakes in Fifa competitions, the World Cup among them, to private investors. That plan has since been aborted, but the objection is as much about process as substance: a decision affecting the sport’s most valuable asset was advanced without meaningful consultation with the national associations that own the game.

France’s leaders have gone a step further than the other objectors by proposing to explore ways of transforming how Fifa is governed. That is a different order of demand — it points at the balance of power between the presidency, the Fifa Council and the 211 member associations, rather than at one rejected proposal.

The timeline is the awkward part for Fifa. The FFF backed Infantino in June. The investment plan then emerged, was met with resistance and was abandoned. France’s withdrawal comes after all of that, which sharpens the question of how much associations actually knew when they gave their public backing.

Five associations and a European bloc

France are the fifth association to withdraw support, after England, Italy, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. What began as separate statements now looks like a coordinated European position, and one with real weight inside Uefa and on the Fifa Council.

The sporting weight matters as much as the headcount. England, Italy and France run three of the wealthiest football economies in Europe and supply a large share of the World Cup’s audience and its players. Public disagreement from that group chips away at Infantino’s European legitimacy in a way smaller federations cannot.

The arithmetic still favours the incumbent. Fifa is governed by 211 member associations and only 55 of them are European. A united European bloc applies pressure but does not, on its own, decide a congress — which is precisely why the French proposal targets the rules rather than a single vote.

What it means for England and the Premier League

There is no direct sporting consequence for World Cup 2026. The schedule, the 48-team format and England’s involvement are unaffected by what is a dispute over governance and money rather than football operations.

For English football the live issue is fixture load and revenue distribution. Expanding Fifa competitions and opening them to outside capital points towards more matches, which lands squarely on Premier League clubs who release internationals and already push through the most congested calendar in Europe.

The FA moved first among the five, which gives England a degree of influence over how the reform conversation is framed. Whether that translates into anything depends on whether the group can convert a set of withdrawals into a specific proposal that a Fifa congress can actually vote on.

What to watch next

The immediate marker is Fifa’s official response and Uefa’s stance. The European confederation has not so far taken a position as firm as the five member associations that have spoken out, and a formal Uefa intervention would change the scale of the dispute.

The second is whether more associations, inside Europe and beyond, follow. Numbers decide whether governance reform reaches the agenda of a Fifa congress; five associations make a statement, a much larger group makes a motion.

Third, Infantino’s position is not formally under threat. Withdrawing support is not the same as calling for a resignation, and no such process has been started. France’s stated route is changing how Fifa works, not removing who runs it.

FAQ