German Football Federation declines to endorse Infantino for FIFA presidency re-election.

The German Football Association declined to sign the letter of support for Gianni Infantino's bid for re-election as FIFA President, a rare act of dissent from European football.

The German Football Association (DFB) has refused to sign the letter supporting him Gianni Infantino to continue as President of the World Football Federation in the 2027 election. DFB confirmed this decision after many member associations were publicly urged to side with the FIFA head.

In a statement published by German media, DFB said: "The next steps will be discussed within the DFB board". That means the most powerful organization in German football has not yet made a final decision on its vote, but is not ready to give Infantino early support like many other associations.

According to ZDF, FIFA Director Elkhan Mammadov contacted European national associations during the 2026 World Cup to seek signatures supporting Infantino before the election scheduled for March 18, 2027 in Rabat, Morocco. However, DFB is not participating in this campaign and will continue to review the matter internally while consulting with the DFL.

The DFB's stance was actually expressed by President Bernd Neuendorf from early May. After Infantino announced his intention to run for re-election, Neuendorf emphasized that evaluating a FIFA presidential candidate is not his personal decision but falls under the authority of German football's governing bodies. Therefore, DFB wants to wait until the nomination deadline closes before determining its official position.

Infantino confirmed his candidacy for an additional term at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on April 30. The Swiss administrator took office in 2016 after succeeding Sepp Blatter, then was confirmed in 2019 and 2023. If he wins in 2027, this will be his final term under the term limits set in FIFA's statutes.

The DFB's decision comes amid ongoing controversies surrounding Infantino's management of FIFA, the relationship between football and politics, as well as incidents that occurred at the 2026 World Cup. However, his chances of re-election are still considered very high as African, Asian, and South American federations have expressed support.

This is not the first time German football has kept its distance from Infantino. In the 2023 election, DFB did not publicly support him during the confirmation process by acclamation. The latest move thus shows that German concerns have not completely disappeared, and may set the stage for other European federations to reconsider their stance ahead of the 2027 election.