FIFA President Gianni Infantino is fighting for his political survival as a growing number of countries withdraw their support for his re-election after he presented FIFA’s sell-off plan.
The crisis has triggered a deep civil war within the football world, splitting nations into two opposing camps.
Countries opposing Infantino
UEFA has been at the forefront of opposing Infantino, with UEFA stressing that it maintains its boycott of FIFA competitions in spite of its decision to abandon its sell-off plan due to a failure to provide adequate “assurances” that it would never try this again.
There has been a domino effect as far as European countries going against the organisation. Officially written letters have been sent by England, Wales, Serbia, Finland, Croatia, Sweden, Albania, and Greece renouncing their support for the organisation.
The Football Association of Wales stood on a strong verdict, stating that Infantino had “lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football.”
The Concacaf, which oversees football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, too, is in line with the president, demanding a “comprehensive reckoning” of his presidency. The Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, has said that he has “no confidence” in Infantino.
Germany and Denmark had declined to endorse Infantino even before, but Norway now wants his immediate resignation. Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is opposing the privatization plan and calling for an “urgent review” of the governance of FIFA.
Jordan is the only non-European country that is opposing Infantino, as the federation president, Prince Ali bin Hussein, has accused FIFA of blackmailing.
Countries supporting Infantino
Infantino receives major support from CAF (the Confederation of African Football) whose 54 member associations have unanimously thrown their weight behind the embattled president.
While Argentina and Mexico have gone against the grain and backed Infantino despite their respective organizations’ stance against him, the decision of Mexico is especially telling of their intentions of possibly switching to the South American organization CONMEBOL. Paraguay has thrown its support behind Infantino, who has also received backing from CONMEBOL despite the lack of official endorsement from the organization, which has a history of backing Infantino.
There are several other countries which have announced their allegiance to him, such as Qatar, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bhutan, Morocco, Egypt, Mauritania, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Comoros, Malawi, Uganda, The Gambia and South Africa. The South African Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture has made an ominous warning to African countries as follows: “Africa must think twice before joining the public lynching of Infantino. He has been very good for African football.”
The neutral group
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has not issued any statement publicly; however, New Zealand came out against Infantino’s proposal. It is worth noting that even Conmebol, which initially showed some willingness to cooperate with FIFA, has kept itself officially impartial for now while showing “concern” regarding the unilateral steps taken by FIFA.
With splits on the matter becoming increasingly common across continents, finance, and politics, there is still much to fight for in regard to FIFA’s presidency.
2026-08-07 18:33:00
