The Football Association (FA), English football’s governing body, is set to withdraw its support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, marking a significant escalation in the growing opposition against his leadership following the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
According to reports, the FA will write to Infantino to revoke its earlier letter backing his re-election, signalling a coordinated effort by several European football associations to challenge his leadership ahead of next year’s FIFA presidential election.
The backlash began after FIFA announced plans to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise, a subsidiary intended to manage the governing body’s commercial rights, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing. The proposal envisaged raising up to USD 4.2 billion through the sale of minority, non-controlling stakes in the entity to external investors.
The plan drew sharp criticism from UEFA and several national football associations, which argued that it effectively commercialised the FIFA World Cup and other global competitions. UEFA subsequently announced that its 55 member associations had unanimously agreed to boycott FIFA competitions unless the proposal was abandoned.
Although FIFA later dropped plans to establish FFE following widespread criticism, opposition to Infantino has continued to gather momentum. The Welsh FA became the first national association to publicly withdraw support for his re-election, with the English FA now expected to follow suit.
According to the report, more football associations are likely to announce similar decisions in the coming days, increasing pressure on Infantino despite FIFA’s reversal on the proposal.
While Infantino has reportedly ruled out stepping down, he is understood to be seeking continued backing from football associations in Africa, Asia and South America, where he retains considerable support. Even if he withstands the current wave of criticism, the FIFA president is expected to face a challenger in the organisation’s presidential election scheduled for March next year in Morocco.
