Wales Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino's FIFA Re-election

The Football Association of Wales has dramatically withdrawn its backing for Gianni Infantino’s re‑election as Fifa president, a sharp public rebuke rooted in his failed attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

Infantino quietly abandoned the plan last week after fierce resistance from across the game. Three confederations had already rejected the proposal, and the backlash has left his decade-long tenure under the harshest scrutiny of his time in office.

The political pressure has risen as well. The UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, weighed in on Friday, bluntly branding Infantino the “wrong man” to lead Fifa. England’s Football Association followed by demanding a “full and robust review” of his leadership, signalling that discontent is no longer confined to back rooms and closed meetings.

Now Wales has gone a step further.

In a strongly worded statement, the FAW confirmed it will no longer support Infantino’s bid to stay in power beyond 2027. “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,” it said.

The governing body did not stop there. It listed “recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement” as the reasons behind its decision, and delivered the kind of verdict that rarely appears in such formal communiqués: Infantino, it said, has “lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football”.

The core accusation is simple and cutting. “Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept,” the statement concluded.

Infantino is due to stand for re‑election in March next year. Until now, national associations have largely grumbled in private while voting in line with established power blocs. By becoming the first FA to formally withdraw support, Wales has broken that pattern and placed a marker down.

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