Six confederations speak as Oceania praises Fifa amid World Cup sell-off dispute
The Oceania Football Confederation on Friday issued a statement praising Fifa’s “progress achieved over the last decade”, completing responses from all six continental confederations on the fallout from the World Cup sell-off plan and leaving the question of Gianni Infantino’s future split three apiece. The exchange comes after a week of meetings and public declarations that have crystallised positions across world football.
OFC’s statement followed this week’s executive committee meeting, but New Zealand Football (NZF) quickly contradicted the confederation by withdrawing its support for Infantino and calling for an independent review of the sell-off plan. NZF, the biggest federation in the OFC, previously benefited from Infantino’s patronage as the co-hosts of the 2023 Women’s World Cup with Australia. While the OFC stopped short of a full endorsement for Infantino’s re-election, other confederations have taken clearer stances.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) and Conmebol have publicly declared they want Infantino to remain for a third full term. Individual Fifa member associations have also issued public support for the incumbent, notably Mexico in Concacaf and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates within the Asian Football Confederation.
Saudi Arabia has not yet declared its position because the Saudi Football Federation is without a president and elections are taking place this month, a development the article said could influence how many Asian countries follow the AFC leadership. Uefa has been the most vociferous opponent of Infantino’s continued presidency, with the vast majority of its 55 members reported to be united and even threatening to boycott Fifa tournaments if he does not withdraw his candidacy.
Concacaf’s 41 members were described as appearing more united in their stance, and the Grenada Football Association on Friday joined Mexico in declaring support for Infantino. The piece notes Mexico has separately expressed a desire to leave Concacaf to join Conmebol in order to seek more lucrative matches against Brazil and Argentina, while senior figures at Uefa believe individual African countries could be persuaded to join the rebels.
After three weeks of intense activity the situation is described as a stalemate, unlikely to be settled before next year’s presidential election at Fifa Congress in Rabat in March. The article states Infantino retains strong allies in Africa and South America and has the public support of the US president, Donald Trump, meaning there is said to be no prospect of him resigning or withdrawing his candidacy and that a seven-month campaign lies ahead.
The most immediate test is next month’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, which European countries have threatened to boycott though it is unclear whether any teams will withdraw; the report suggests Uefa and Fifa are likely to reach a public truce to allow the tournament to proceed. Candidates for the Fifa presidency must declare by 18 November, leaving the Uefa-led alliance with just over three months to unite behind an alternative; the Concacaf president, Victor Montagliani, is regarded as the most likely challenger but will only stand if he is convinced he can win, and the electorate of 211 Fifa members means rebels need 106 votes to prevail.