English FA to withdraw support for Infantino, joining Wales in defection
The English Football Association will write to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to withdraw its backing, following Wales's public defection and escalating opposition from major European confederations. The move comes after Infantino scrapped plans to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors. His path to re-election in March 2027 faces significant headwinds as European federations signal coordinated resistance.
The English Football Association is set to write to FIFA president Gianni Infantino withdrawing its support for his continued leadership, according to BBC Sport reporting. The move places England alongside Wales in publicly opposing Infantino ahead of his re-election bid set for March 2027, when he will stand for a fourth and final term as president.
The withdrawal stems from fallout over Infantino's now-scrapped plans to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors. The proposal would have created a commercial subsidiary to run FIFA's main events, including the World Cups, with external investors able to purchase ownership stakes. UEFA and Concacaf issued statements criticizing the plans, and UEFA has threatened legal action over the proposals.
Infantino has headed FIFA for 10 years. To win re-election in March, he will need 106 votes from FIFA's 211 member federations, according to BBC Sport. The defections from England and Wales add to a pattern of public questioning by football's governing bodies across Europe, North and Central America, and the Caribbean.
The Scottish Football Association's position remains aligned with UEFA's lack of confidence in the 56-year-old, per BBC Sport reporting, though this remains unconfirmed independently. No response from Infantino or FIFA to the withdrawals of support has been reported.
The coalition of opposition is still taking shape. The sources do not detail how many confederation votes Infantino has already secured or lost, whether UEFA's threatened legal action has been formally filed, or what FIFA's official statement on the defections will be.
England is withdrawing support for Infantino's re-election bid, joining Wales and UEFA in public opposition ahead of the March 2027 vote where he will need 106 votes from FIFA's 211 member federations.
England's formal withdrawal, expected soon, will crystallize European opposition into a public roster just eight months before the March 2027 election. The threshold of 106 votes remains his mathematical path to victory, but the growing public defections signal the political terrain has shifted. Watch whether other major confederations follow England's lead and whether Infantino issues a response to the coordinated criticism.
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