FAI withdraws support for Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s re-election bid

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has rescinded a letter of support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as Fifa president.The FAI previously declined to confirm its support for Infantino ahead of the vote in March 2027.The deadline to nominate another candidate is November 18th.The FAI joins a growing number of national football associations, including the Welsh and English FA’s, that have formally backed away from Infantino winning a fourth term as president following the collapse of his deal to sell a 20-per-cent stake in Fifa – which would have included tournament rights for the World Cup – to the private equity firm Thrive Capital, headed by American billionaire Josh Kushner.READ MORE“Following an FAI board meeting, the decision was taken to rescind the letter of support that the association supplied earlier this year,” a statement from the FAI on Thursday morning read. “It has since written to Fifa to explain its reasoning. The association is grateful for the support that Fifa provides to Irish football, but recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.“Considering the governance challenges that the FAI has had to overcome in recent years, the association feels a particular obligation to advocate for and uphold best practice.”Argentina, Qatar, the UAE and Morocco are among the federations that have publicly backed Infantino to remain as Fifa president until 2031.Uefa, the sport’s European governing body, has previously threatened to boycott Fifa-run events while Infantino remains as president.The FAI owe both Uefa and Fifa seven-figure sums as part of the association’s debt which totals €38 million overall.