The French Football Federation (FFF) has withdrawn support for Gianni Infantino's bid to be re-elected as FIFA president next year. The Swiss has been under pressure since being forced to abandon a plan to seek private investors in a company that would run FIFA's tournaments, which was opposed by three continental confederations. A number of European national associations -- including those in England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales -- had already withdrawn backing for Infantino and they have now been joined by France, whose national team featured in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals.

"Whilst support had initially been given to the FIFA president, who was then the sole candidate for his own succession, the conditions for that support are no longer met," an FFF statement issued on Thursday read. "A series of events directly involving FIFA's governance and its president, and in direct conflict with the fundamental principles of good governance and the values of football, occurred after the FFF expressed its support on June 29."

The statement continued: "Whilst this project has been definitively abandoned thanks to a concerted response within UEFA in conjunction with several other confederations, the issue of FIFA's governance cannot be considered resolved." It is against this backdrop -- where the FIFA president's recent initiatives have seriously damaged the image and unity of football -- that the FFF has decided to withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino ahead of the FIFA presidential election in March 2027.

Infantino is currently the only declared candidate for next year's elections, with a FIFA spokesperson confirming last Sunday nothing had changed regarding his intention to stand again despite the weeks of criticism and pressure that have built up. European football's governing body UEFA has pledged to present a "credible" alternative for the voting associations to consider, with Nov. 18 the deadline for candidates to be submitted. In its statement, the FFF called for the development of a plan for "far-reaching reform" of world football's governance and said it would launch a series of consultations with leading French and international figures on the best way forward.

Infantino continues to gather support elsewhere however, including in Asia, whose confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has spoken out against him and rejected the private investor plan. The Swiss posted on his Instagram on Thursday afternoon following meetings with the presidents of the Kuwaiti and Iraqi FAs at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, saying both had FIFA's "full support." Infantino enjoys other support in the Middle East, with the federations in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia having already given him their backing to various degrees. Moroccan federation president Fouzi Lekjaa, meanwhile, is reported to have confirmed a new stadium near Casablanca will host the 2030 World Cup final. The centenary finals are being co-hosted by Spain and Portugal, with Morocco having joined the bid in 2023. Spanish press agency EFE said Lekjaa confirmed the staging of the final in Morocco at an event in the north African country on Thursday. FIFA insists a decision on which country will host the final will be made "in due course."