The collapse of the FIFA president’s World Cup sell-off plan has put him under huge pressure, and now he has received yet more bad news.
Dylan Terry
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has suffered yet another huge blow as a damning statement from the Welsh FA leaves his future in further doubt.
Infantino, who heads football’s world governing body, has come under severe scrutiny in recent days after unveiling a proposal to sell off a stake of the World Cup.
The plan was scrapped just days later after a number of continental bodies opposed the idea, before European organisation UEFA went further by stating it had “lost confidence” in Infantino.
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Now the Welsh FA have become the first football association to withdraw their support for the Swiss administrator’s re-election as president.
The Football Association of Wales told Sky News it “hereby confirms its withdrawal of support for the candidature of Mr Gianni Infantino, for re-election as FIFA President for the 2027-2031 term.”
They went on to add: “The recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement have led us to a position where Mr Infantino has lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football.
“Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept.”
The report also revealed the Welsh body has written to FIFA informing them they are opposing their acting president.
Infantino has been in the role since 2016 when he succeeded Sepp Blatter.
He is running for re-election again next year and does not currently have any opposition.
If successful, it would be his fourth election victory since taking charge — a term that runs until 2031.
The plan floated by FIFA earlier this week said it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), the commercial subsidiary it proposed to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.
It said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.
But Infantino then retracted the idea following widespread outrage.
He said: “The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed.
“And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.
“Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.
“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”
