French President Emmanuel Macron has personally intervened in the growing controversy surrounding FIFA president Gianni Infantino, telling him he firmly opposes plans to open the commercial rights of the World Cup to private-sector investors.
According to French sports newspaper L’Equipe, Macron spoke directly to Infantino by telephone and rejected the proposed reform, which has triggered widespread opposition within the governing structures of world football. The pressure eventually led Infantino to step back from the plan.
Macron also contacted Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe, expressing his full support for the position taken by UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin. UEFA has led the campaign against the proposal.
A source close to the French government told L’Equipe: “The President of the Republic is actively involved in this matter, just as he strongly opposed the European Super League project, which particularly called into question the principles of solidarity and sporting merit.”
The direct involvement of the French president underlines the level of concern in Europe over attempts to bring private investment into the commercial structure of global football. FIFA is already facing increasing scrutiny over the transparency of its decisions and the direction of its commercial strategy.
The plan, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, was intended to involve selling a share of the World Cup’s commercial rights to a private investment fund. The agreement was expected to generate billions of dollars, but it also raised concerns that FIFA could lose control of the most important tournament in world football.
Critics feared that allowing private investors to acquire a stake in the tournament’s commercial rights could reshape the way revenue and influence are distributed across the game. The proposal also prompted wider questions about whether the financial priorities of the World Cup could take precedence over football’s traditional principles.
Macron’s opposition is consistent with his previous stance on the European Super League in 2021. That breakaway competition collapsed within days of its launch after intense pressure from supporters and politicians. It was widely viewed as a threat to fairness and competitive balance in European football.
The French president’s latest intervention therefore places the issue within a broader political debate about the future governance of the sport. His criticism also aligns him with UEFA’s resistance to the proposed rights arrangement, strengthening the pressure on FIFA’s leadership.
The developments leave Infantino in a difficult position, with calls growing for fundamental reforms to the way FIFA is run. There is also increasing demand for a reassessment of the commercial policies pursued since Infantino became president of the international governing body.
The dispute comes as football authorities continue to debate how the sport should attract investment while preserving sporting merit, solidarity between countries and the influence of its established institutions. Macron’s intervention signals that the issue has moved beyond football administration and into the highest levels of European politics.
