Wales Withdraws Support for Infantino
The Football Association of Wales has become the first national association to openly withhold support for the FIFA president, with pressure also mounting from UEFA, which is threatening a vote of no confidence.
The Football Association of Wales has become the first national association to openly withhold support for the FIFA president, with pressure also mounting from UEFA, which is threatening a vote of no confidence.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) announced on Monday that it is withdrawing its support for Gianni Infantino's candidacy for a new term as FIFA president. This makes it the first national association to publicly turn its back on the current president of world football's governing body, citing a series of governance failures and a controversial plan to sell commercial rights as key reasons.
The Welsh association's stance is particularly significant because the FAW is one of the eight members of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which is responsible for the laws of the game, making their decision all the more impactful. Alongside FIFA, the associations of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland also hold permanent seats on that board, having existed before the founding of the world governing body.
In a statement to Sky News, the FAW was exceptionally direct:
"The FAW hereby confirms the withdrawal of support for Mr. Gianni Infantino's candidacy for re-election as FIFA President for the term 2027 to 2031."
The Welsh association did not stop at merely withdrawing support. They went on to list specific grievances:
"Recent failures in governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder relations, communication, and judgment have led to Mr. Infantino losing the confidence of the FAW. We believe he can no longer lead world football. Disregarding the best interests of the game is a mistake we cannot accept."
Although Wales is the first national association to explicitly withhold support, the European governing body UEFA made its move as early as Saturday. It described Infantino's plan as a secret deal and gave him an ultimatum: either step down voluntarily or face a vote of no confidence. According to reports, all 55 UEFA member associations would support his removal, and 43 votes are needed to initiate proceedings. UEFA also threatened to boycott all future FIFA tournaments.
Following UEFA, the plan was also sharply rejected by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and North America's CONCACAF. South America's CONMEBOL requested additional information, while the African and Oceanian confederations will discuss the proposal during the week.
At the center of the scandal is Infantino's plan to establish a company called "FIFA Forward Enterprise" (FFE), valued at around $20 billion, which would manage the commercial and organizational affairs of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions. Private investors would be offered the opportunity to participate up to 20 percent, with plans to raise approximately $4.2 billion.
The main investor was to be the Thrive Eternal fund, linked to American billionaire Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner. Jared is the husband of Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump, and one of his closest associates. A member of the Kushner family was set to become a key private investor in a company to which FIFA would entrust some of its most valuable future revenues.
Infantino and Trump have built an exceptionally close public relationship in recent years. When journalists directly asked Trump about the deal, he said he had not discussed the sale of a stake with Infantino, but it is hard to believe that people from such a tight political, business, and family circle were unaware of the preparations.
The plan also drew reactions at the highest political level. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was the first head of state to publicly call for Infantino's departure.
"This was a scandalous proposal. The very fact that such a thing was even proposed shows that the FIFA president is not the right person to lead that organization,"Burnham stated.
Following the fierce backlash, Infantino admitted on Friday that the project had "caused divisions," and FIFA announced that "the proposal will not be pursued further." However, the damage has already been done, and the question remains whether Infantino can hold onto his position until the end of his term, which lasts until 2031.
