The English Football Association (FA) is set to withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as Fifa president after his scrapped World Cup privatisation bid.
Infantino’s leadership is under intense scrutiny with a widespread loss of confidence coming as a result of his failed attempt to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
Wales became the first member association to officially retract its support of the Swiss-Italian in an attempt to force him out, and England are expected to follow suit, as first revealed by Sky News.
The FA is preparing to send a letter to Fifa to withdraw its backing, piling more pressure on Infantino.
open image in galleryInfantino, whose decade-long reign faces increasing scrutiny, announced on Friday night that he was shelving the widely-denounced plan, which had been rejected by three confederations after first being revealed earlier in the week.
Concacaf, the confederation for North America and the Caribbean, along with the Asian Football Confederation fumed over the lack of consultation while Europe’s governing body Uefa threatened to boycott all Fifa competitions, including next year’s Women’s World Cup and the 2030 World Cup, before Infantino’s eventual climb-down.
Uefa confirmed after Infantino went back on his plans that it had lost confidence in his leadership, slamming the “shabby, backroom deal”, and has now written to the Fifa president confirming it is “actively considering” legal action in regard to the sell-off scheme.
The letter orders Infantino and Fifa to “take immediate steps to identify, locate, and preserve all documents and electronically stored information described in this notice that are in your or Fifa’s possession, custody, or control”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated Infantino is the “wrong man” to lead Fifa, while the FA called for a “full and robust review” into his leadership in the fallout of the U-turn.
Infantino also became the subject of criticism from within his administration, with senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro resigning over the plans, while Fifa chief operating officer Kevin Lamour claimed the president had “deceived” Fifa staff.
The proposal involved establishing Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) and selling a 20 per cent stake to private investors, with Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Eternal reportedly earmarked as the lead investor group. Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law of United States president Donald Trump.
Trump, however, insisted he had not spoken about the sell-off plan with Infantino before it was scrapped.
open image in galleryThere are calls for Infantino to resign but as things stand he will stand for re-election in March 2027.
Uefa has indicated that “no option should be off the table” regarding the future of Infantino, hinting at the possibility of a no-confidence vote.
Such a move, if triggered by just 43 national associations, would necessitate an Extraordinary Fifa Congress.
However, this action is considered improbable unless there is a strong conviction, if not certainty, that a majority among Fifa’s 211 member nations would vote to remove Infantino at such a gathering.
Several African and Asian football bodies, including those from Morocco, Egypt, and Qatar, have meanwhile publicly voiced their support for Infantino over the weekend.