‘Not up to the standards of what football stands for’ – FFF president Philippe Diallo lambasts Gianni Infantino’s project to sell World Cup stakes

‘Not up to the standards of what football stands for’ – FFF president Philippe Diallo lambasts Gianni Infantino’s project to sell World Cup stakes Fédération Française de Football (FFF) president Philippe Diallo has openly criticised FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s controversial project to sell stakes in the World Cup. FIFA said it plans to create a multi-billion subsidiary to run their flagship event and offer stakes of up to ​20% in it to external investors. Infantino’s project has been heavily criticised, notably by UEFA, who accused FIFA of putting the game’s “soul” up for sale. Like most executives in European football, Diallo learnt of this project for the first time following the release of an investigation from  The Times . “ It was revealed in the press, without any prior information. We know neither its philosophy nor its necessity, nor its financial structure or funding”,  Diallo said to  L’Equipe .  The FFF president, who introduced Zinédine Zidane as France’s national team manager on Tuesday, presented FIFA’s project as “ worring ” and “ cause for concern “. Diallo also added that recent FIFA-related controversies, such as Folarin Balogun’s revoked red card and the expansion to the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams “ necessitate a review of this governance, which is not up to what football stands for. “ Diallo stopped short at declaring whether or not he’ll vote to renew Infantino’s tenure for FIFA’s elections in March 2027. “ There cannot be a new election without more clarification, democracy and transparency. We need to build a demanding relationship with FIFA, and we’re not there yet.” GFFN | Bastien Cheval