SFV Committee withdraws support for Infantino ahead of FIFA presidential elections

The SFV executive committee changed its mind about supporting the Swiss activist during its meeting on September 25, after having previously sided with him in June.

This decision is the result of a thorough reassessment of the events of recent months, SFV said in a statement.

"From SFV's perspective, a number of incidents raise fundamental questions about leadership, governance, transparency and decision-making processes within FIFA," it added.

Election of the head of FIFA

The Swiss will run for re-election in March. He has been the head of FIFA since 2016.

Infantino, 56, who has Swiss and Italian citizenship, faced a challenge this year after the collapse of a project to sell a 20 percent stake in competitions organized by FIFA, including the World Cup, to private investors.

The website "The Atlhletic" also reported that the head of FIFA planned to organize the U-15 World Cup with an opening and closing ceremony at Disneyland in Florida. The tournament was to open with an Israel-Palestine match.

These ideas sparked fierce opposition. The group of entities demanding changes at the top of FIFA's government includes, among others: UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the North American CONCACAF. Several European national associations withdrew support for Infantino's re-election (including Italy, England, Wales, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Serbia, Israel and New Zealand). Recently also France.

Confidence in the FIFA president has been broken. Our task now is to select a program and a candidate, and then ensure his victory, said Philippe Diallo, president of the French federation.