New Zealand Football has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s FIFA presidency bid, becoming the latest federation to distance itself from the under-fire FIFA chief following the collapse of his controversial private investment proposal.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), however, has taken a more cautious stance, welcoming FIFA’s decision to abandon the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan and launch a review into how the project was handled.
The OFC said Oceania had benefited significantly from FIFA’s leadership over the past decade and encouraged the governing body to use the review to identify and implement any necessary changes.
New Zealand Football broke ranks with the regional body after announcing that it would no longer back Infantino’s re-election at next year’s FIFA Congress. New Zealand also called for an independent review of the development of the FFE scheme.
The federation said decisions made within FIFA had contributed to a breakdown in trust and increased divisions across international football, arguing that an independent review was needed to restore confidence in the organisation.
Infantino has faced increasing pressure following the collapse of the FFE proposal, which sought to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF have all called for greater scrutiny of his leadership and the way the proposal was handled.
The abandoned plan would have provided FIFA’s member associations with a US$20 million grant for the next funding cycle, with the amount potentially doubling for associations that supported the deal.
Following a crisis meeting in Morocco, FIFA apologised to its 211 member associations over mistakes made during the proposal process while maintaining that Infantino continued to have the support of FIFA’s leadership.
However, New Zealand’s decision adds further uncertainty to Infantino’s bid for another term and highlights the growing divisions within world football ahead of next year’s election.
