England will join Wales in withdrawing their letter of support for Gianni Infantino's re-election as FIFA president. The Football Association is sending a letter to Infantino informing him that he no longer has England's backing, according to Daily Mail Sport.
Wales became the first nation to explicitly stand against Infantino's re-election on Monday morning. The Finnish FA has also revoked its support, with more UEFA nations expected to follow after the confederation itself lost confidence in him.
The FA had already set out its position on Saturday, releasing a statement calling for change at the top of FIFA and declaring a loss of confidence in Infantino. Withdrawing the letter of support is largely symbolic, since associations had already made clear he no longer had it, but it formally reiterates to Infantino that his position is perilous.
The FA had backed Infantino at every opportunity since his initial election in 2016 and was supporting his re-election bid until plans to sell stakes in the World Cup came to light. His future is now under intense scrutiny after The Times revealed plans to sell a £3.1billion stake in the World Cup to private investors. Those proposals have since been scrapped after opposition from UEFA, the North, Central America and Caribbean confederation (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
As of July, Infantino had reportedly been endorsed by almost all of FIFA's 211 member associations for re-election. Candidates must be put forward by November 18, with the vote taking place at FIFA's congress in March.
"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," a statement from the Welsh FA read. "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."
Allies resign as pressure mounts
Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016, when he replaced Sepp Blatter, and is targeting a fourth term. But the events of recent days, and controversies that blighted him before and during the World Cup, have rocked his authority. His plans have been widely criticised, including by prime minister Andy Burnham, and two of his closest allies have resigned. His senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro stepped down before chief operating officer Kevin Lamour criticised the proposals.
UEFA and CONCACAF have called on Infantino to quit, but the ploy to depose him hit a roadblock after Kuwait, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Lebanon reiterated their confidence in his leadership. UEFA and CONCACAF make up 90 of FIFA's 211 member associations. That is above the 20 per cent threshold needed to trigger a vote of no confidence, but it falls short of the majority needed to topple Infantino.
With Infantino retaining support from Africa, and South America expected to take the same position, AFC members would be required to oust him. New Zealand could join Europe and CONCACAF's resistance, but it is doubtful the remaining 10 members of the Oceania Football Confederation would follow suit. Infantino had written to all FIFA nations claiming they would receive £30million if they backed his plan to sell off stakes in FIFA's major competitions.
The Kushner stake sale
The specific proposal was to sell stakes in the tournament to a group led by Josh Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law. After his schemes were exposed to the public, having previously been known to very few, Infantino initially blamed the media for misconstruing them before reneging on the plans, for now at least.
UEFA and CONCACAF react
UEFA welcomed Infantino's abandonment of the plans, saying it "welcomes FIFA's decision to withdraw its plan to sell a stake in its competitions - including the World Cup - into private hands." The confederation said the proposal "was unanimously rejected by UEFA's national associations and by many other federations and confederations of all sizes around the world, whose job it is to protect football," adding: "We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account."
"The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA's confidence but also that of many other members of the football family. The shabby, back-room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent. This is a victory for the whole game. But it must not be the end of the story."
Countless European nations, including England, Wales, the Netherlands and Norway, endorsed the statement. A spokeswoman for the English FA added: "We fully support UEFA's position. It is time for a full and robust review of FIFA's leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently, for the benefit of all 211 member nations and with the long-term stewardship of football at its heart."
CONCACAF, which represents 41 member associations, said it welcomed the withdrawal of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise and commended its members for "the courage and unity they have shown this week." It said: "A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first," adding that a full review of the leadership must now take place.
Infantino's response
Infantino 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 that it was only to proceed with majority support and subject to consultation.
"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," he said. "As a result, this proposal will not proceed." He added that he intends to bring interested parties back together "in the coming days and weeks."
Infantino had previously been expected to run unopposed in FIFA's elections next March, but that may now change. FIFA member nations could trigger a vote of no confidence, with the threshold to initiate the process set at 46 member associations. UEFA alone has 55 members. Wales has made the first move.
