The leaders of UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have formed an alliance aimed at toppling FIFA president Gianni Infantino, according to The Times.
Infantino is under huge pressure after he was forced to abandon a proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to a group led by Josh Kushner, brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared, following a major revolt from the footballing world.
UEFA subsequently declared a loss of confidence in the Italian-Swiss administrator, while the English and Welsh FA are among several countries to withdraw their support for his re-election in next March's elections. Infantino reportedly held crunch talks with the White House on Monday in a bid to help him survive.
According to The Times, the leaders of the three confederations are preparing to "paralyse FIFA" if Infantino refuses to resign, with several plans in place should he insist on remaining in power and seeking re-election at March's vote.
Rival tournaments and a boycott threat
The plans include being prepared to stage rival international competitions, as well as imposing a government boycott that would see the confederations refuse to ratify FIFA decisions or take part in council and committee meetings.
A source told The Times that everyone is very determined he needs to go, and that if not, they will take all necessary steps to remove him from power. The source added that this includes future international competitions, asking whether the big South American countries would prefer to play France or Spain, or Lebanon or Djibouti, and said everyone is very determined, with no backward steps now.
It is believed that with several countries withdrawing their support, Infantino has secured backing from only around 15 nations so far. In the summer, it was understood he had the support of nearly all 211 FIFA members for his re-election in March, where he needs 106 votes to win. No candidates have come forward to challenge him, and they have until November 18 to do so. If a significant number of nations call for Infantino to quit, it may help generate support for an emergency FIFA council meeting.
Nations withdraw support
Several European nations, including England and Wales, formally withdrew their backing for Infantino on Monday. At the weekend, the FA had called for a full and robust review of FIFA's leadership and governance to ensure the global game is run transparently.
A statement from the Welsh FA on Monday said the Football Association of Wales confirmed its withdrawal of support for Infantino's candidature for re-election as FIFA president for the 2027-2031 term. The statement said recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement had led the FAW to conclude that Infantino had lost its confidence to remain at the helm of world football, adding that failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure they cannot accept.
Serbia, Sweden and Finland also publicly withdrew their support, while Morocco, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Sri Lanka were among those to back Infantino.
UEFA's legal letter
The latest development comes after UEFA sent Infantino a legal letter on Friday threatening legal action over the abandoned plot, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), and demanding that related documents be preserved.
The letter stated that UEFA was actively considering legal action, arbitration and/or regulatory complaints arising out of and in connection with the FFE plan proposed by FIFA and all related matters. It said Infantino and FIFA were required to take immediate steps to identify, locate and preserve all documents and electronically stored information described in the notice.
UEFA warned that any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment or loss of relevant materials after the letter may constitute spoliation of evidence, and did not rule out further action if any such actions took place, though the letter itself is not legal action. The letter also insisted that FIFA must ensure certain individuals, including Infantino, chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, specifically preserve all such materials in their possession. UEFA later confirmed to Daily Mail Sport that a document preservation letter was sent.
