Infantino’s fourth-term plans rocked by Welsh FA stance

The Football Association of Wales has become the first national association to publicly withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino’s bid to remain president of FIFA, dealing a significant blow to his hopes of securing a fourth term.

The Welsh FA said it no longer backed Infantino’s candidacy for the 2027-2031 presidential term, citing a loss of confidence in his governance and leadership.

The decision follows a major crisis at FIFA after Infantino abandoned controversial plans to sell stakes in the organisation’s competitions to private investment companies. Those proposals triggered widespread international criticism and intensified concerns about the way FIFA is being run.

The proposed investment plan also led to a serious diplomatic dispute with UEFA. European football’s governing body threatened to boycott all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, in what was described as the most confrontational point in the relationship between the two organisations.

UEFA and Concacaf, the governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, both issued statements last Saturday strongly criticising FIFA’s leadership. Their criticism came even after Infantino withdrew the investment plan.

In an unusually forceful statement, the Welsh FA said: “The recent failures in good governance, process, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communication and sound judgement have brought us to the position that Mr Infantino no longer has the confidence of the Football Association of Wales to remain at the head of global football.”

The association added: “The failure to put the interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept.”

The comments indicate that the Welsh FA’s decision followed a broad assessment of Infantino’s performance and priorities during his time in charge of FIFA, rather than being based solely on the abandoned investment proposal.

Wales’ position represents a potentially serious setback for Infantino as he seeks to continue in office beyond 2027. It is particularly significant because Wales is a European member of UEFA, and the move could encourage other national associations to adopt similar positions in the coming months.

Infantino became FIFA president in 2016 and has faced growing criticism over his management style and a series of decisions viewed by opponents as unilateral. However, the public withdrawal of support by a member association is a new and troubling development for his campaign.

The Welsh FA’s statement makes clear that its concerns extend beyond one policy. Governance, procedures, leadership, values, relations with stakeholders, communication and judgement were all cited as factors in its decision.

The withdrawal also comes at a sensitive time for FIFA, with the organisation already facing pressure from major regional bodies over the direction of world football. Infantino’s decision to cancel the investment plan eased one immediate conflict, but it did not prevent UEFA and Concacaf from publicly challenging his leadership.

For Infantino, the Welsh FA’s declaration threatens to open the way for further defections before the 2027 election. Until now, criticism of his presidency had not resulted in a national association openly declaring that it no longer trusted him to lead FIFA.