Scottish FA says it will not back Gianni Infantino in Fifa re-election
On 17 August 2026 the Scottish Football Association told BBC Sport it had lost confidence in Fifa president Gianni Infantino and will not be voting for his re-election, chief executive Ian Maxwell said. Maxwell made the remarks as he announced Belgian Sebastian Pocognoli as the new Scotland head coach.
Gianni Infantino was first elected as Fifa president in 2016. The decision by the SFA follows controversy over a proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan to create a company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, with 21% proposed to be sold to a private investment company. FFE was aborted after criticism from several confederations, led by Uefa, which threatened a boycott of Fifa competitions.
Maxwell set out the SFA position directly in his statement: "The position of the SFA has been clear since the 55 Uefa associations met," and added, "We have aligned ourselves with the Uefa position and 55 nations are stronger than one voice." He continued, "Their statement since then has talked about a lack of confidence in the Fifa leadership and the Scottish FA agree completely with that decision." Maxwell concluded, "The SFA will not be voting for Gianni Infantino come the re-election in early 2027." He also rejected the suggestion that the SFA had remained silent because its president, Mike Mulraney, chairs the Fifa finance committee.
The Football Associations of England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have already declared they have withdrawn support for Infantino, who is scheduled to stand for a fourth term as president in March. Last week an open letter from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation accused Fifa and Infantino of breaking trust "through deception" and said the controversy was fundamentally about "the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it." Sources have told BBC Sport the letter should be seen as an opportunity for him to resign and leave his position with dignity.
Fifa has committed to presenting a report on FFE to the next meeting of the Fifa Council, which is expected to take place in October. The three confederations said that a proper review should be conducted by "a fully independent third party," and Uefa issued a legal warning that Fifa should not delete or destroy any documents related to the abandoned plans. BBC Sport understands there have been preliminary discussions between the three confederations about possible breakaway competitions, but substantive talks have yet to begin.
The wider football world is divided: the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania have backed Infantino, while divisions exist within confederations. In Oceania, New Zealand has said it will not follow its confederation; Mexico, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis have broken away from the other 32 Concacaf nations to support Infantino; and eight of the 46 Asian members — the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Kuwait, Mongolia, the Philippines and Bhutan — have also backed him. The Fifa Council comprises 36 confederation and national association heads plus Infantino and appears similarly split.
The first test of Uefa's boycott threat comes in just over three weeks when the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup is due to kick off in Poland, with five other European nations taking part, including England. At present no candidate has declared an intention to challenge Infantino ahead of the 18 November deadline and the SFA has said it will not support him in the re-election in early 2027. Fifa's planned report to the Council in October and the approaching candidate deadline remain the next formal steps in the process.
