Yet another against him: Ireland drops support for Infantino 🇮🇪 | OneFootball

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has taken a step forward on the international stage. The board of the Irish governing body has decided to withdraw its official backing for Gianni Infantino in his bid for re-election as president of FIFA. With this decision, the organization revokes the letter of support it had sent at the beginning of the year and confirms the cooling of its relationship with world football’s top leadership.

In a letter addressed directly to FIFA, the FAI set out the reasons for its change of position. While thanking the governing body for the funding and institutional support it provides for the development of grassroots football in Ireland, the Irish federation admits that recent executive decisions have raised serious concerns about governance and the lack of consultation processes.

The Irish body recalled that in recent years it has had to deal with its own internal management problems. For this reason, its leaders argue that they have both the responsibility and the commitment to defend good practices within global sporting institutions, prioritizing institutional transparency over political alliances.

A new 'rebel' in Europe

Ireland’s decision adds to the discontent led by other European federations such as England, Wales, Finland, the Netherlands, Serbia and Sweden. All of them have expressed their opposition to Infantino’s management following the recent controversy over the private investment project in official competitions, which was ultimately dropped due to pressure from Europe.

The situation opens a period of uncertainty in the leadership environment ahead of the organization’s next elections. Growing discontent in Europe weakens the position of a presidency that, until now, had assumed unanimous consensus among the member federations was assured.

Official FAI statement

"The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirms that it has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino to be re-elected as FIFA president.

Following a meeting of the FAI Board of Directors, the decision was taken to revoke the letter of support that the Association had provided earlier this year. FIFA has since been informed in writing of the reasons for this decision.

The Association appreciates the support FIFA provides to Irish football, but recent events have caused significant concern regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.

Given the governance challenges the FAI has had to overcome in recent years, the Association feels a particular obligation to uphold and promote good practice."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

📸 ATTILA KISBENEDEK - AFP or licensors