Scottish FA withdraws support for Infantino ahead of 2027 vote
Chief executive Ian Maxwell confirms Scotland will not back the Fifa president’s re-election, joining England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland in a growing coalition challenging Infantino’s leadership.
The Scottish Football Association has formally withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as Fifa president in 2027, citing a fundamental loss of confidence in his leadership. Chief executive Ian Maxwell confirmed the decision aligns with the position of UEFA and 55 other national associations, following the abandonment of the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal.
The SFA joins England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland in this move, highlighting broader divisions within world football over governance and Infantino’s management. Maxwell stated that the Scottish FA’s stance was clear since the 55 UEFA associations met, noting that their collective position on the lack of confidence in Fifa leadership was one they agreed with completely.
The controversy centres on Infantino’s attempt to create a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights of all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups, with 21% to be sold to a private investment company. The Fifa Forward Enterprise plan was aborted after widespread criticism from several confederations, led by UEFA, which has threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions.
Maxwell rejected suggestions that the SFA had previously failed to publicly state its opposition because its president, Mike Mulraney, heads the Fifa finance committee. He emphasised that the SFA will not be voting for Infantino come the re-election in early 2027, reinforcing the growing political pressure on the Fifa president.
The split within world football is significant, with the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania having backed Infantino. However, even within these confederations, there is disagreement. New Zealand has stated it will not follow its confederation’s stance and will not vote for Infantino, while Mexico, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis have broken away from the other 32 Concacaf nations to support the Fifa president.
Of the 46 Asian Football Confederation members, eight countries have split to champion Infantino’s cause: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Kuwait, Mongolia, the Philippines and Bhutan. This fragmentation raises questions about whether Infantino has the political power to govern Fifa, even if he wins an election of the 211 member associations.
Fifa has committed to presenting a report on the abandoned FFE proposal to the next meeting of the Fifa Council, expected in October. However, the three confederations that issued an open letter last week argued that this failed to recognise that proper governance would require a review by a fully independent third party. Preliminary discussions have occurred between UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation regarding potential breakaway competitions, though substantive talks have not yet begun.
