FAI Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino Ahead of Vote
The Football Association of Ireland has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino's re-election as FIFA president, rescinding a letter of backing it issued earlier this year. The decision followed an FAI board meeting, and the association has since written to FIFA to explain its reasoning, citing "significant concerns" about governance, transparency and a lack of meaningful consultation (FAI statement).
Ireland joins Finland, Wales, England, Serbia, Sweden and the Netherlands among UEFA members reported to have withdrawn support from Infantino, following the collapse of his plan to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights (The Independent). Finland was the first UEFA member to pull its backing, according to an August 4 report from The Irish Times, with Wales, England, Serbia, Sweden and the Netherlands following in the days after.
The World Cup equity plan that triggered UEFA's withdrawals
The dispute traces back to FIFA's "FIFA Forward Enterprise" proposal, a plan to sell up to a 20% stake in World Cup-related commercial rights to private investors. UEFA rejected the plan and threatened to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, until it was scrapped (The Independent).
UEFA was one of three continental confederations that publicly opposed the proposal, so the initial pushback reached beyond Europe even though the sustained withdrawal campaign has stayed centered on UEFA's own membership (The Independent). UEFA called the plan a "shabby, back room, opaque deal" and said it had lost confidence in Infantino's presidency (BBC Sport).
Infantino dropped the proposal, and FIFA acknowledged "mistakes" during a summit meeting in Morocco last week (BBC Sport). FIFA also apologized over the plan around the same time, according to AP. UEFA responded that it wants assurances that "attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again," according to AP. Separately, UEFA said the concession "changes nothing," maintaining that its loss of confidence in Infantino still stood and dismissing internal FIFA staff backing as coming from people "whose careers depend on his favour" (BBC Sport).
Why the FAI withdrew support for Gianni Infantino
The FAI's statement cited governance, transparency and consultation concerns tied to the equity-sale dispute; the statement did not identify a separate incident. The board acknowledged FIFA's financial support for Irish football while stating that recent events had raised those concerns (FAI statement).
The association also cited its own governance difficulties in recent years as a reason it feels "a particular obligation to advocate for and uphold best practice" (FAI statement). Similar language appeared in the Football Association of Wales's own statement, which cited "recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement" when it withdrew support earlier this month (The Irish Times).
As recently as August 4, the FAI would not confirm publicly whether it backed Infantino, or even whether it had sent an original letter supporting him. That reticence came despite the association backing a UEFA-wide boycott threat against FIFA competitions the previous week over the same equity-sale dispute, according to The Irish Times.
The FAI's rescinded letter does not spell out how the association intends to vote at FIFA's Congress. The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland told RTÉ's Drivetime last week that it expected the FAI to eventually follow its English and Welsh counterparts in withdrawing support (RTÉ). The FAI's statement addresses the letter itself and does not specify a future voting position.
Where Infantino's support stands outside Europe
All of the associations identified in reporting as withdrawing support, Finland, Wales, England, Serbia, Sweden, the Netherlands and now Ireland, belong to UEFA. CONMEBOL, the Confederation of African Football, and the football associations of Mexico and Argentina were reported to have backed Infantino last week, in the same window as the wave of European withdrawals (BBC Sport).
A memo from FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström also criticized the abandoned plan, describing it as a "sad and reproachable series of events" that was "difficult to comprehend and accept," according to a staff memo made public by Sky News and cited by The Irish Times. AP separately described the backlash as revealing "the depths of animosity" toward Infantino as he prepares to seek re-election next year while containing the fallout from the equity plan (AP).
FIFA's election timeline and where nominations stand
Infantino is set to stand for a fourth term as FIFA president at the Congress in Rabat next March (The Irish Times). Even though he was already expected to run unopposed, Infantino sought formal letters of support from member associations earlier this year and was reported to have received pledges from more than 200 of FIFA's 211 members (The Irish Times).
An August 4 report from The Irish Times did not identify a rival candidate for the Rabat election (The Irish Times). AP reported that Infantino held off the possibility of an internal revolt during the summit meeting in Morocco last week, without reporting a formal challenger emerging from it (AP).
UEFA's stance faces a practical test separate from the Congress vote. The FIFA Women's U20 World Cup kicks off in Poland on September 5, with six European countries, including England, due to take part (BBC Sport).
Whether the withdrawal movement spreads beyond UEFA's membership, or a rival candidate enters the race before Rabat, is not addressed in the reporting available so far. The FAI's statement confirms it has rescinded its letter of support and written to FIFA over governance and transparency concerns, but it stops short of saying how the association will vote when FIFA's Congress meets in Rabat next March.