English FA to withdraw support for Gianni Infantino’s FIFA re-election

The English Football Association (FA) is set to write to Gianni Infantino to withdraw its support for him to be re-elected as FIFA president.

This comes after the FA issued a statement on Saturday endorsing UEFA’s view that it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership after he attempted to sell a 21 per cent stake in FIFA’s commercial and event operations to Joshua Kushner’s investment fund for $4.2billion (£3.1bn).

“It is time for a full and robust review of FIFA’s leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently, for the benefit of all 211 member nations and with the long term stewardship of football at its heart,” the FA’s statement read.

Infantino performed a dramatic U-turn on his FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) proposal on Friday following widespread opposition from within football, including from Kevin Lamour, FIFA’s chief operating officer, who told the Associated Press “it is the project of one person.”

Despite scrapping his FFE plans, Infantino remains under mounting pressure and, on Monday, the Football Association of Wales (FAW), became one of the first 211 FIFA member associations to formally withdraw its support for his re-election next year.

Coordinated by UEFA, which vowed its members would boycott the World Cup if the FFE plans were not scrapped, other football associations in Europe are expected to follow the FAW’s and FA’s lead.

UEFA has also threatened FIFA with legal action over its scrapped FFE proposal.

On July 31, a law firm acting on behalf of the governing body sent separate letters to FIFA and Kushner — the brother of U.S. President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — and demanded all documents related to the plans not be destroyed.

Last week, The Athletic reported that the vast majority of members from Concacaf, the confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean, were losing confidence, or have lost confidence in Infantino.

At FIFA’s annual congress in April, Infantino announced his intention to run for what would be his final term as the organisation’s president.

Such was his grip on world football before the FFE scandal emerged, Infantino posted on Instagram that he had received pledges of support from more than 200 of the 211 member associations for his re-election in 2027.

The expectation was that the 56-year-old would run unopposed for the 2027-31 cycle, just as he did in 2019 and 2023.

However, Victor Montagliani, the president of CONCACAF and already a FIFA vice-president, is seriously considering challenging Infantino for the presidency.

Nominations to stand as a candidate for the March election must be submitted by November 18.