The Welsh Football Association has become the first FIFA member association to withdraw its support for President Gianni Infantino in his re-election race, it announced on Monday, days after the international federation withdrew its controversial plan to open up to outside investors.
“The failures in terms of good governance, processes, and leadership (…) put us in a position where Mr. Infantino has lost the confidence of the Welsh federation to remain at the helm of world football,” details the federation in its press release.
“Not putting the interest of football above all else is a failure that we cannot accept,” adds the Welsh body.
FIFA announced last Tuesday its plan to create a company – the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) – open to private investors and responsible for managing the body’s commercial and event activities, including the World Cup.
Faced with firm opposition from several confederations, including the powerful European organization UEFA which had threatened a boycott of the World Cups, the world body announced on the night of Friday to Saturday the withdrawal of the project.
On Saturday, UEFA sharply criticized Infantino, accusing him of having reneged on his commitments with this “shabby, opaque and behind-the-scenes project”. She said he had “lost the trust” of the body like “many other members of the football family”.
Infantino is currently the only declared candidate for re-election at the head of the world football body. The vote will take place in March 2027 in Rabat for a four-year term.
