English FA to withdraw support for Gianni Infantino after scrapped World Cup sell-off
Growing Pressure on Infantino
The English Football Association (FA) is preparing to withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino‘s re-election as Fifa president. This move follows the abandonment of his plan to privatise parts of the World Cup. The decision by the FA is expected to increase pressure on Infantino, whose leadership is currently under significant scrutiny.
Wales was the first national association to officially retract its backing for Infantino. The Football Association of Wales (FAW) cited a loss of confidence in his leadership, pointing to recent failures in governance, processes, and stakeholder management. The FAW stated that Infantino has lost their confidence to remain at the helm of world football.
Infantino’s proposal involved establishing Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) and selling a 20 per cent stake to private investors. Joshua Kushner‘s Thrive Eternal was reportedly considered as the lead investor group for this scheme. However, the plan faced widespread opposition from several confederations.
Confederations Express Dissent
The proposed sell-off scheme was met with strong disapproval from various football confederations. Concacaf, the confederation for North America and the Caribbean, and the Asian Football Confederation expressed frustration over a lack of consultation regarding the plan. Uefa, Europe’s governing body, went further, threatening to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the upcoming Women’s World Cup and the 2030 World Cup, before Infantino ultimately reversed his decision.
Following Infantino’s climb-down, Uefa confirmed its loss of confidence in his leadership, describing the situation as a “shabby, backroom deal.” Uefa has since communicated to the Fifa president that it is actively considering legal action concerning the abandoned sell-off scheme. The letter from Uefa requests Fifa to take immediate steps to preserve all relevant documents and electronically stored information.
Despite the widespread dissent, some football bodies have publicly voiced their support for Infantino. Several African and Asian football associations, including those from Morocco, Egypt, and Qatar, offered their backing over the weekend. Sri Lanka and Kuwait also publicly supported Infantino on Sunday.
Future of Fifa Leadership
The pressure on Infantino is intensifying, with discussions among national governing bodies about formally withdrawing their support to hasten his resignation. Before the recent crisis, most of Uefa‘s 55 members, with the exceptions of Germany, Romania, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, had provided letters endorsing Infantino’s candidature for next March.
A simultaneous withdrawal of these letters has been suggested, or member associations could choose to remove their backing individually. Such actions would effectively serve as a vote of no confidence. Fifa must be formally notified by any country wishing to recall its letter of support.
Efforts are underway to identify a potential candidate to replace Infantino. Any individual put forward for the election would require substantial support from outside Europe, particularly from the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf. The Confederation of African Football and the South American confederation, Conmebol, are currently reported to be fully behind Infantino, making Asia and North America critical regions in the push for new leadership at Fifa.
Infantino is reportedly determined to remain in his position and is lobbying individual member associations globally to retain their support. As things currently stand, he is expected to stand for re-election in March 2027.
Source: independent.co.uk
Isla Hartley is a Sports Reporter at NewsUK. She covered the British summer of sport from Wimbledon to the Test grounds. She focuses on tennis, cricket and athletics and is known for clear, deadline-driven reporting. She holds a degree in Sports Studies from the University of Stirling and completed an NCTJ diploma. Now based in Glasgow, she runs half-marathons and follows Scottish athletics. “The overlooked athlete usually has the better story.”
