Wales have become the first nation to publicly withdraw their support for Gianni Infantino’s bid to continue as president of FIFA. It is a stinging blow to the current chief, and one that threatens to open the door to a wave of defections before the 2027 elections.
In an official statement, the Football Association of Wales confirmed they had pulled their backing for Infantino’s re-election for the 2027-2031 term, citing a loss of confidence in him after a string of governance and leadership failures.
The historic decision follows the crisis that rocked FIFA to its foundations. Infantino had scrapped controversial plans to sell stakes in the federation’s tournaments to private investment firms, a proposal that drew unprecedented global condemnation.
That lucrative scheme lit the fuse on a severe diplomatic crisis. UEFA threatened to boycott every FIFA tournament, the World Cup included, in the most escalatory stance in the history of relations between the two bodies.
Both UEFA and CONCACAF, which oversees football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, issued statements attacking FIFA’s leadership, even after Infantino backed down and withdrew the plan.
“The recent failures in good governance, procedures, leadership, values, management of relations with stakeholders, communication, and sound judgement have brought us to a situation in which Mr Infantino has lost the confidence of the Football Association of Wales to remain at the head of the leadership of world football,” the association said.
The Welsh body stressed that “not putting the interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept,” a clear sign the decision followed a full assessment of Infantino’s performance and priorities at FIFA.
This intervention marks a dangerous turning point on Infantino’s road to a fourth term. It comes from a European nation and UEFA member, which could embolden other associations to follow suit in the months ahead.
Infantino took charge of FIFA in 2016. He has faced mounting criticism of late over his management style and unilateral decisions, but a member nation publicly pulling its support is a fresh and worrying development for his camp.
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