FAW Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino's FIFA Presidency

The Football Association of Wales has delivered a sharp and public rebuke to Gianni Infantino, withdrawing its backing for his bid to stay on as FIFA president after the furore over plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

Infantino, under pressure from across the game, scrapped the proposal last week after it was rejected by three confederations. The retreat did little to ease the wider disquiet around his decade-long spell in charge of world football’s governing body, and Wales has now become the first national association to formally abandon support for his re-election.

The move is significant. Infantino is due to stand again in March next year for the 2027–2031 term, a vote he has long expected to navigate with relative comfort. The FAW has made it clear it no longer believes he should be the man leading the sport.

In a strongly worded statement, the FAW confirmed: “The Football Association of Wales hereby confirms its withdrawal of support for the candidature of Mr Gianni Infantino, for re-election as FIFA president for the 2027–2031 term.

“The recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement have led us to a position where Mr Infantino has lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football.

“Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept.”

Those lines cut to the heart of the row. The World Cup is FIFA’s crown jewel, the tournament that underpins its finances and its power. Any attempt to carve it up for private capital was always going to be incendiary. For Wales, shelving the plan after the backlash was not enough; the attempt itself has been framed as a breach of trust and of the values the association expects from the game’s global leadership.

The FAW’s intervention leaves Infantino facing a re-election campaign clouded by questions over governance and credibility. One association breaking ranks does not decide an election, but it sends a message: some of FIFA’s members are no longer willing to quietly fall in line.

Whether others now follow Wales’ lead will say much about how secure Infantino’s grip on power really is.