English and Welsh FA withdraw support for Gianni Infantino

The fallout from FIFA’s controversial plan to attract private investment through the sale of minority stakes in a new commercial entity tied to the World Cup has intensified, with support for President Gianni Infantino’s re-election continuing to erode.

The English and Welsh Football Associations (FAW) have now joined a growing list of football bodies set to withdraw their backing for the FIFA chief.

As such, the FA has reportedly concluded that it will officially write to Infantino to remove their support given before the World Cup, ahead of March’s FIFA presidential election.

Prior to this decision on Monday, UEFA revealed that it has lost confidence in the FIFA leadership, which led to the governing body holding an emergency meeting of all UEFA’s 55 member associations in last week, Thursday.

CONCACAF, the confederation representing 41 nations from North and Central America, along with the Caribbean, also made clear its opposition to FIFA’s plan, saying it “rejected the proposal”.

The Football Association of Wales became the first national association to formally withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president, doing so, with the English FA set to follow suit.

In a letter to FIFA, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) cited what it described as “failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement” as the basis for its decision.

According to talkSPORT, some CONCACAF members have lined up to withdraw their support in a move spearheaded by the potential FIFA presidential candidate Victor Montagliani.

UEFA is intensifying pressure on Infantino, with its 55 member associations expected to play a key role in rallying support across FIFA’s 211-member Congress as opposition to the president gathers momentum.

While every FIFA member association has an equal vote, regardless of its size or stature, any effort to remove the president would depend on widespread support from across FIFA’s membership.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has thrown it support, while the Asian Football Confederation opposed Infantino’s thwarted FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plans.

There are divided opposition for Infantino’s leadership within various confederations, however, Infantino continues to enjoy a strong support from Qatar and Sri Lanka.

The 56-year-old FIFA president is facing increasing pressure from within football’s governing circles, with growing calls for him to resign. Despite the mounting criticism, Infantino has yet to reveal his next move.