French Football Federation to Announce Position on Infantino's FIFA Re-Election Bid Thursday

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Gianni Infantino
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The French Football Federation will announce its position Thursday on Gianni Infantino's bid for a new term as FIFA president.

The decision will be revealed Thursday afternoon, following an executive committee meeting to be held at the federation's headquarters.اضافة اعلان

Barring a major surprise, the French federation is expected to withdraw its support for Infantino, according to a source familiar with the matter, who noted that the decision must be made collectively rather than unilaterally.

The head of world football's governing body is holding onto his position despite calls for his resignation and pressure from several national and continental federations that have withdrawn their support, even though he remains the sole declared candidate in the election scheduled for March 18.

For weeks, the football world has been sharply divided over his management style, which critics describe as lacking transparency, accusing him of drawing up, without consultation, a plan to create a commercial company open to private-sector investors with a stake of up to 20%, into which World Cup revenues would be transferred.

Facing a wave of objections after the plan was revealed, the Italian Swiss official, who has led FIFA since 2016, abandoned it just four days later.

Since then, several European federations have withdrawn their support for Infantino, including Sweden, Scotland, Italy, and Belgium, alongside groups of fans, former players, and one of FIFA's vice presidents, Hungary's Sándor Csányi.

According to the source familiar with the matter, the French federation opposed the plan, which was deemed "inappropriate," whether in terms of its substance, form, methodology, or its lack of transparency.