FA to withdraw support for Gianni Infantino as all 55 UEFA nations expected to support boycott | OneFootball

The FA are to write to FIFA president Gianni Infantino in order to withdraw their letter of endorsement for his re-election, and all 55 UEFA nations are expected to do the same.

Infantino has not covered himself in glory in the last few months, but a plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup have caused a serious furore. The plans would have seen him and investors paid a lot of money for private investment in FIFA’s biggest tournaments.

A number of nations threatened a boycott of the World Cup if that happened, with UEFA some of the strongest critics of the now-scrapped scheme.

Per talkSPORT, the FA are now going to write to Infantino to withdraw their letter of endorsement for his re-election in March, which they were initially on board with prior to the World Cup.

The Welsh FA have removed their support, stating there have been ‘failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgment.’

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is pushing for a blanket withdrawal of support from UEFA’S 55 nations, which looks to be pointing in the right direction.

The European board’s 55 votes would do some way to reducing overall support for Infantino in the election, in which 106 votes are needed to gain a majority. FIFA has 211 members.

CONCACAF and their 35 voting nations are also aligned with UEFA’s view, and it’s believed to be highly likely that several of their members revoke endorsements for Infantino.

Their president, Victor Montagliani, is considering standing against the current president.

Some nations have come out in favour of Infantino, but should many more join those opposing him, his position will become untenable.

Infantino support dropping

Not only outside of FIFA, but also those close to Infantino are removing their support for the president.

His aid, Carlos Cordeiro, has resigned from his position in recent days, with a statement following his decision.

Part of it read: “The proposal has become a defining question for FIFA’s future. FIFA’s responsibility is not to maximise commercial returns at any cost. It is to protect and strengthen football for future generations. When those principles come into conflict, football must come first.

“Most troubling of all is the absence of answers to fundamental questions. Why this deal? Why now? What oversight exists? Who benefits?

“These questions remain largely unanswered, and yet member associations are being asked to make a decision of enormous consequence in barely 50 days or risk being left behind. That is not a responsible way to determine the future of the world’s game.”