The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has withdrawn its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s bid for re-election, becoming the first national football association to publicly oppose his candidacy following the collapse of his controversial World Cup investment proposal.
In a statement issued on Monday, the FAW announced it would not back Infantino’s campaign for another term as FIFA president during the 2027 election scheduled to take place in Rabat, Morocco.
“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 association said.
The Welsh football body cited what it described as failures in governance, leadership, stakeholder engagement, communication and decision-making, saying the FIFA president had lost its confidence.
“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,” the statement added.
The move follows widespread opposition to Infantino’s now-abandoned proposal to sell minority stakes in the commercial rights of FIFA competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, to private investors. Under the plan, FIFA’s 211 member associations were expected to receive up to $40 million each in funding.
However, the proposal was withdrawn after strong resistance from major continental football bodies, including UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which raised concerns over governance, transparency and the long-term independence of the World Cup.
The English Football Association is also reported to have informed FIFA that it no longer supports Infantino’s re-election bid. Over the weekend, the FA issued a statement reaffirming its full support for UEFA’s position that the FIFA president had lost the confidence of the European football governing body.
Concacaf has called for a comprehensive review of Infantino’s leadership, while the AFC has urged FIFA to strengthen transparency and governance in its decision-making processes.
