According to the latest report from The Times, Gianni Infantino may be forced to resign due to opposition from various football associations, and his opponents intend to boycott him and form a new competition if he remains in office.
According to reports, following the complete collapse of Gianni Infantino's controversial World Cup privatization equity financing plan, the English Football Association (FA) has decided to formally withdraw its written support for Infantino's re-election as FIFA president. The Welsh Football Association became the first member association globally to publicly withdraw its support in writing this Monday, with the English FA following suit. The English FA plans to send a formal letter to FIFA clarifying its position, further exacerbating Infantino's governing crisis.
Multiple high-ranking figures in the football world have confirmed that UEFA had previously coordinated with its member associations to unify their stance, encouraging them to gradually withdraw their endorsements of Gianni Infantino, creating a chain reaction of pressure. The root of this conflict lies in Infantino's FIFA Forward Equity (FFE) plan: a proposed $4.2 billion sale of a 21% commercial stake in all of FIFA's core tournaments, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, to a private equity firm owned by Joshua Kushner in the United States.
The proposal bypassed consultations with the continental football federations and the FIFA Council, and was unilaterally pushed forward by Infantino, which triggered fierce opposition from the three continental football federations: UEFA, AFC, and CONCACAF. The three continental football federations issued a joint threat: if the proposal is not abolished, they will collectively boycott all FIFA events, including the 2027 Women's World Cup and the 2030 Men's World Cup, and establish a new competition.
Under immense pressure, Gianni Infantino urgently announced last Friday that the FFE plan would be completely shelved. FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour publicly criticized the plan as "entirely Infantino's private affair," and several key advisors submitted their resignations in protest.
The original draft of the FFE plan stated that Infantino's annual salary could reach up to $30 million during his term. After this salary clause was exposed, it further amplified the dissatisfaction of football associations around the world, questioning whether his decision served his personal interests rather than the overall development of the football industry.
The Football Association of Wales (FA) was the first to issue a formal written statement, which was extremely strongly worded: "The FA hereby confirms that it is formally withdrawing its support for Gianni Infantino's candidacy for FIFA president for 2027-2031. FIFA has recently made a series of major mistakes in governance, decision-making processes, leadership, industry values, communication with various parties, and professional judgment, which have caused us to completely lose confidence in Infantino's leadership of world football. Putting the overall interests of football in a secondary position is a serious mistake that we absolutely cannot accept."
The Serbian Football Association followed suit, announcing the withdrawal of its letter of support for the president's re-election submitted in May. European football associations, including those of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, have stated they will reassess their positions and are highly likely to withdraw their endorsements as well. According to FIFA's current statutes, a vote of no confidence in the president can be initiated by a joint action of 43 member associations, and a resolution requires 106 votes to be effective.
With UEFA alone having 55 member seats, the European bloc alone has reached the threshold for initiating impeachment. Now, with only a few months left until the FIFA presidential election in Rabat in March 2027, industry insiders generally believe that after the collective defection of many national football associations, Infantino's plan to seek a re-election without any opponents has basically failed.
In addition to the FFE equity controversy, Trump's direct pressure on FIFA to make an exception and suspend Balogun's red card ban further damaged Infantino's credibility. UEFA President Ceferin had clearly stated that if Infantino refused to resign, UEFA would join forces with the Asian and CONCACAF federations to field opposing candidates in the presidential election, thus ending his ten-year term in office.
Multiple sources close to FIFA's top leadership revealed that the board has secretly begun the process of selecting a successor, with several football administrators from Europe and South America on the shortlist. A complete overhaul of the international management is now inevitable.
