FA withdraws support for Gianni Infantino's Fifa re-election amid mounting pressure

The Football Association will formally withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as the Fifa president, adding to the mounting pressure on his crisis-hit tenure. In a significant development, the FA will write to Fifa confirming it no longer backs Infantino for a fourth term in charge, having previously offered its endorsement. Their move comes after the Welsh FA dropped its backing for Infantino’s candidature.

More European countries are expected to follow suit in an attempt to force his resignation. The Football Association of Finland became the first country to withdraw its support last week.

The Guardian reported on Sunday that Uefa federations have been preparing a mass withdrawal of letters supporting Infantino. All bar five of the continent’s 55 member associations had communicated their backing before last week’s revelation of his privately backed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup.

The FA has previously fallen into line behind Infantino, who will helm an extraordinary Fifa congress confirming the UK’s hosting of the 2035 Women’s World Cup in November if he is still in position. But it has been consistent in condemning his doomed Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, publicly and in private representations. On Saturday, it called for a “full and robust review of Fifa’s leadership and governance”, and its latest move is a further escalation.

While the FA’s stance is robust, it is not expected to publicise its withdrawal letter due to a view, also held in some other parts of Europe, that the movement to unseat Infantino needs to gather momentum on different continents. Opposition within Europe will not be difficult to achieve, but Infantino’s future may hinge on the degree of leadership taken by members of the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, where opinion on his reign has been more divided.

The Football Association of Wales confirmed on Monday morning that it no longer supports Infantino. “The Football Association of Wales hereby confirms its withdrawal of support for the candidature of Mr Gianni Infantino, for re-election as Fifa president for the 2027–2031 term,” it said.

“The recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgment 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.”

Welsh football and its representatives have played a key role in moves to oppose Infantino. In a meeting of member associations last Thursday, Laura McAllister, a Uefa vice-president and former Wales international, advocated a Europe-led boycott of Fifa competitions if Infantino did not scrap the FFE scheme. It led to a collective agreement that effectively rendered the plan untenable.