The Football Association of Wales (FAW) on March 3 officially announced it was withdrawing support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino's re-election bid for the 2027–2031 term, after his plan to sell commercial rights to the World Cup failed.
In a statement, the FAW said: “The Football Association of Wales confirms the withdrawal of support for candidate Gianni Infantino for the position of FIFA President for the 2027–2031 term.” The FAW cited recent failures in governance, process, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communication, and judgment as reasons why Infantino had lost the federation's confidence.
“Not placing the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept,” the FAW statement stressed. FIFA has not yet made any public comment on Wales's announcement.
According to Reuters, FIFA's ambitious plan to raise $4.2 billion from private investors by selling about 20% of shares in a new entity managing its tournaments, including the World Cup, was abandoned on Friday after strong opposition from stakeholders.
UEFA and CONCACAF have both declared a loss of confidence in Infantino's leadership. UEFA, which led the backlash against Infantino's plan and welcomed its cancellation, did not confirm media reports of preparing legal action against FIFA. However, UEFA said it had sent a document preservation request to prevent the destruction of emails, files, or data as an investigation is anticipated.
Infantino had stated in April last year that he intended to seek a fourth term as FIFA President. Since taking over from Sepp Blatter in 2016, the Swiss leader has been re-elected twice without opposition and appears to hold firm control of the organization.
Although his re-election for the 2027–2031 term once seemed a formality, experts told Reuters that the backlash against the failed proposal indicates discontent among FIFA members and could complicate his path ahead of the congress in Morocco in March.
