Gianni Infantino arrived at the Under-20 Women's World Cup on Saturday and declined to say whether he's even still running for a fourth term. That's not a leader projecting confidence. That's a man watching his support drain away.
According to Le Monde, the French football federation (FFF) is withdrawing its backing for Infantino's reelection bid — a significant blow from one of world football's most influential national associations. The FFF hasn't formally confirmed the report, noting its executive committee meeting on the matter wasn't finished, but the story landing in Le Monde with a source close to the federation isn't the kind of thing that disappears.
How Infantino got here
Two issues have done real damage. His handling of the Folarin Balogun red-card case at the World Cup drew widespread criticism and raised questions about interference in match officiating at the highest level. And his plan to sell off World Cup profits — quietly shelved after pushback from member nations and, embarrassingly, from within his own FIFA staff — made him look both overreaching and politically exposed.
These aren't abstract governance concerns. They're the kind of missteps that erode trust with the very federations whose votes he needs to keep his job.
At the stadium in Poland, he told Sky News: "There will be a lot to say, but there will be a right place and a right time to say this. It's not today, it's not here." Asked directly whether he'd considered resigning, he said nothing.
What this means for the FIFA race
France backing out is a signal, not just a data point. Other federations watch where the bigger associations go. If the FFF's withdrawal becomes public and formal, it gives cover to others sitting on the fence to follow.
Infantino has spent years consolidating power at FIFA, building alliances across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Those relationships may still hold. But losing European credibility while his key policy initiative collapses mid-cycle is a combination that narrows his room to manoeuvre considerably.
"We are continuing at FIFA, of course," he said on Saturday. Whether that's still true in twelve months is no longer the settled question it looked like a year ago.
