FIFA President Gianni Infantino. [AFP]
FIFA President Gianni Infantino. [AFP]

UEFA member associations are discussing whether to withdraw letters of support they had sent to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

A majority of UEFA member associations are considering pulling back endorsement letters submitted ahead of the FIFA presidential election in March next year, with an announcement expected within days, the Guardian reported Sunday. Each association would need to notify FIFA directly to rescind its letter.

Fifty-two European associations submitted support letters, excluding Germany, Romania and Norway. Both a collective withdrawal and individual withdrawals are being discussed. The Guardian noted that if associations pulled their letters one by one, the effect would be equivalent to a vote of no confidence.

Earlier, the Guardian reported in July that more than 200 of FIFA's 211 member associations had submitted letters backing Infantino.

What had appeared to be a certain uncontested fourth term for Infantino became complicated by his attempt to establish a World Cup subsidiary. He declared his bid for a fourth consecutive term at FIFA's annual congress in Vancouver, Canada, in April.

Infantino had announced plans to create "FIFA Forward Enterprise" (FFE), a subsidiary bundling the management of World Cup operations, broadcasting rights, sponsorships, ticketing and licensing, with a plan to sell a 20 percent stake to investors including Thrive Eternal, led by Joshua Kushner — the brother-in-law of Ivanka Trump. The plan collapsed after UEFA member associations threatened to boycott FIFA-organized tournaments.

Infantino has no intention of stepping down and is reaching out to member associations individually to maintain their support.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph reported that UEFA has also begun searching for an alternative candidate. Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation, and Victor Montagliani, president of CONCACAF, have been mentioned as potential European-backed candidates. Al Khalifa lost to Infantino in the 2016 election.

Infantino was elected in 2016 to succeed former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who stepped down amid a corruption scandal, and has since been re-elected twice without a vote.


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