Europe moves to withdraw support for Infantino's re-election

The English Football Association (FA) plans to send a formal letter to Gianni Infantino withdrawing its support for his re-election as president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), a new step reflecting mounting pressure on the Swiss president amid an expanding campaign calling for his resignation.

The British newspaper The Telegraph reported that the English FA will follow the lead of the Welsh FA, which became the first national association among FIFA’s member unions to officially withdraw its endorsement of Infantino, following the crisis sparked by his proposal to sell stakes in World Cup tournaments to private sector investors. The Welsh FA stated: “Through this statement, we withdraw our support for Infantino’s candidacy for re-election as FIFA president for the 2027–2031 term, scheduled to take place in Rabat, Morocco, in March 2027. Recent failures in areas of good governance, procedures, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communication, and sound judgment have brought us to a position where Infantino has lost the confidence of the Welsh FA to continue leading global football.”

The English FA’s move comes after the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) declared a loss of confidence in FIFA’s leadership, a stance backed by the English FA in an official statement calling for a comprehensive and robust review of FIFA’s leadership and governance to ensure the transparent management of global football in the interest of all member associations.

Infantino had previously reversed course last Saturday on the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments, following unprecedented rebellion led by UEFA, which had threatened to boycott the global competitions if the project proceeded. The newspaper added that other national associations may take similar steps in the coming days, as criticism within Europe intensifies.

In the Netherlands, the local football federation announced it no longer trusts Infantino’s leadership, emphasizing that the withdrawal of the privatization project does not mean the issue is resolved, and that the manner in which the matter was handled led to a collapse of trust in the FIFA president. For his part, German FA president Bernd Nöcker called for a full investigation into the project, noting that Infantino acted unilaterally, without transparency, and irresponsibly toward the interests of football. Meanwhile, Norwegian FA president Leif Kleveland viewed the withdrawal of the project as a necessary step but stressed that the crisis should not devolve into a mere power struggle, calling for the entrenchment of governance principles and the promotion of a culture of openness within FIFA.

Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that Infantino is seeking support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to remain in office, scheduling a special meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, amid growing calls for his resignation. Two sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Infantino will soon contact the top U.S. diplomat. One source said, “He wanted to speak with Rubio about how to use football as a tool of U.S. soft power, but we all know it’s about protecting his position, and nothing else at this stage.” A second source added that the Swiss-Italian official feels “isolated” amid a wave of negative media coverage, noting that he is seeking prominent allies to publicly declare their support for him. The newspaper stated it contacted FIFA and the U.S. State Department for comment.

The New York Post also reported that Infantino, 56, has repeatedly attempted, without success, to contact President Trump, 80, by phone since the collapse of his plan to sell commercial football assets to private investors.

On his part, UEFA threatened FIFA with legal action regarding Infantino’s plan to privatize marketing rights for the World Cup tournament, warning against the destruction of any potential evidence. UEFA lawyers informed FIFA that the European confederation is seriously considering taking legal action, going to court, filing administrative complaints, or pursuing all of these measures regarding Infantino’s proposal and investment plan. The Associated Press news agency reported that it obtained the letter sent from a New York law firm last Friday. The letter demanded that 18 FIFA executives retain data, documents, and electronic messages as potential evidence. It stated: “We hereby formally notify you (UEFA) that any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of the requested materials after receipt of this notice, or after any prior date when you were, or should have been, aware of the anticipated legal action, will constitute spoliation of evidence.”