New Zealand withdraws support for Infantino amid continental divide
Continental Divide Over FIFA Leadership
The football world is currently divided over the leadership of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, following the fallout from a proposed World Cup commercial rights sell-off. While the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) initially praised FIFA’s progress, its largest member, New Zealand Football (NZF), has contradicted this stance by withdrawing support for Infantino and calling for an independent review of the sell-off plan.
This move by NZF highlights a broader split, as individual member associations are not always aligning with their regional confederations. NZF, which co-hosted the 2023 Women’s World Cup with Australia, had previously benefited from Infantino’s patronage, indicating a shift in allegiance among some former allies.
The situation has seen confederations taking differing positions. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) and the South American confederation (Conmebol) have publicly backed Infantino for a third full term. Additionally, some individual FIFA member associations, including Mexico in Concacaf and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the Asian Football Confederation, have declared their support for the 56-year-old president.
Conversely, Uefa has emerged as a strong opponent, even threatening to boycott FIFA tournaments if Infantino does not withdraw his candidacy. The majority of Uefa’s 55 members are united in this opposition. The stance of the Asian Football Confederation is less clear, with uncertainty regarding how many of its 47 members support the AFC leadership’s position.
Calls for Independent Review and Future Outlook
New Zealand Football’s chief executive, Andrew Pragnell, emphasised the need for an independent review of the steps taken to develop the FIFA Forward Enterprise Scheme (FFE). NZF believes that decisions and actions within FIFA have led to a breakdown in trust and increased division in international football, necessitating such a review to restore confidence.
Other individual member nations, including England, Wales, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, have also confirmed they will not support Infantino’s re-election bid. However, some Concacaf members like Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis have gone against their confederation’s apparent stance to back Infantino. Argentina, on the other hand, is aligned with Conmebol in its support.
The OFC, while welcoming FIFA’s decision to withdraw the FFE proposal, stopped short of explicitly declaring or withdrawing support for Infantino. The confederation acknowledged the progress in football development in Oceania under FIFA’s leadership over the last decade and encouraged FIFA to use the review process to identify and implement necessary changes.
With strong allies in Africa and South America, and public support from figures like US President Donald Trump, there is no indication that Infantino will resign or withdraw his candidacy. This sets the stage for a contentious campaign leading up to next year’s presidential election at the FIFA Congress in Rabat in March.
The immediate future includes the upcoming Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, which European countries have threatened to boycott. Despite the tensions, it is anticipated that Uefa and FIFA may reach a public truce in the coming weeks to allow the competition to proceed.
The alliance led by Uefa has a limited timeframe to find and unite behind an alternative candidate to Infantino. Victor Montagliani, the Concacaf president, is considered a potential challenger, but his candidacy depends on his conviction of securing a victory. With an electorate of 211 FIFA members, securing the 106 votes required to oust Infantino remains a significant challenge for the opposing factions.
Source: theguardian.com
