European Countries Plan Mass Withdrawal of Support for FIFA President Infantino's Re-election

European countries are planning to increase the pressure on Gianni Infantino with a mass withdrawal of letters supporting his re-election as Fifa president.

Infantino’s reign is in severe peril after the collapse of his privately backed scheme to sell off chunks of the World Cup, which was largely scuppered when Uefa member associations threatened to boycott future Fifa competitions. The mood remains febrile and there is a widespread appetite around Europe to ensure that he is quickly removed from his post.

Now a groundswell of national governing bodies are discussing the formal withdrawal of their support for Infantino in a bid to hasten his resignation, with announcements likely in the coming days. Before last week’s crisis unfolded all of Uefa’s 55 members apart from Germany, Romania and Norway had written letters to endorse Infantino’s candidature next March, with a fourth term for the Swiss viewed as a fait accompli.

A simultaneous withdrawal has been mooted but there is also the possibility member associations could remove their backing one by one. Doing so would effectively amount to a vote of no confidence and increase the pressure on Infantino to resign. Fifa must be notified by any country wishing to recall their letter.

Discussions continue with countries in other confederations. Despite the failure of his Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal, a number of countries in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) publicly backed Infantino over the weekend. Sources within European football have questioned whether those federations have been made fully aware of the level of dissent facing Infantino.

After the financial powerhouse of Qatar backed Infantino on Saturday, smaller Asian associations Sri Lanka and Kuwait offered their public support on Sunday. The AFC rarely votes en masse however, and it is possible that some associations unhappy with Infantino could rally to the European cause.

As the Guardian revealed in July, more than 200 of Fifa’s 211 members have provided letters of endorsement for Infantino. Fifa is understood to have applied heavy pressure upon those wavering even though his tenure did not appear endangered at the time. Many backed him despite privately offering misgivings about his presidency but, in Europe and beyond, patience has run out.

Efforts to identify a candidate to replace Infantino are being stepped up. Anyone put forward for the election would require significant levels of support outside Europe, particularly from the AFC and the North and Central American and Caribbean confederation, Concacaf. Gathering quickly around a suitable contender could be key to persuading Infantino that his position is untenable.

Infantino appears determined to stay on, and is believed to be lobbying individual member associations across the globe to ensure he retains their support. Both the Confederation of African Football and the South American confederation, Conmebol, are fully behind Infantino however, leaving Asia and North America as the crucial battlegrounds as Uefa members seek a new leadership at Fifa.