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Wales became the first nation to publicly withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s re-election bid on Monday, citing “failures in good governance, process, leadership.”
The announcement comes after a loss of confidence in Infantino’s leadership after an attempt to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors, with the Welsh FA saying it would not back Infantino’s candidature for the 2027-2031 term.
“Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept,” the Football Association of Wales said in a statement.
The election is to be held in Rabat next March.
FIFA announced on Saturday it was dropping plans to allow private investors to purchase stakes in major competitions following fierce pushback.
In a statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the project had “created divisions” that were “no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.”
“Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed,” he added.
The football world governing body had outlined a proposal in late July that it said would increase funding to its 211 member associations through a new subsidiary running its commercial operations and events, including World Cups.
Dubbed the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), the venture aimed to cash in on what Infantino described as the sport’s “remarkable commercial value” by inviting third parties to take minority, non-controlling investments in the new entity.
FIFA said FFE could raise up to $4.2 billion (€3.6 billion) based on an initial equity valuation of $20 billion (€17 billion).
In a statement on Saturday, European governing body UEFA said it welcomed FIFA’s decision to shelve the proposal, adding that it would now work with its associations and other confederations to “devise a plan” to ensure such a situation did not occur again in the future.
“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account,” UEFA said.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates.
Additional sources • AFP
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