The proposal to sell a 20% stake in a new entity that would control World Cup‑related competitions for up to $4.2 billion unraveled this week, prompting the Football Association of Wales to become the first national federation to formally withdraw its backing for Gianni Infantino’s bid to extend his presidency of FIFA through to 2031.
Infantino, who has held the FIFA presidency since 2016 and was re‑elected unopposed twice, announced in April that he intended to seek a fourth term at the upcoming Congress in Morocco. His plan, however, was met with fierce resistance from member associations that feared a concentration of power and a lack of transparency.
The Football Association of Wales cited a series of governance, leadership and stakeholder‑management failures as the rationale for its withdrawal, while the English Football Association signaled that it would follow suit. Both bodies pointed to the collapse of the stake‑sale initiative as evidence that Infantino’s leadership was no longer tenable.
The fallout has reverberated across the continental confederations. UEFA and CONCACAF issued statements indicating that they had lost confidence in Infantino’s ability to steer the organization forward, and UEFA went a step further by securing a document‑preservation order to safeguard emails, files and other data amid potential legal proceedings.
A governance crisis in world football
The episode underscores a broader discontent among FIFA’s 211 member associations, many of which have grown increasingly vocal about the need for reform. Analysts warn that the mounting pressure could reshape the power dynamics within global football governance.