The Swiss Football Association walked away from Gianni Infantino on Wednesday, 30 September, when its executive board withdrew the support it had declared in June for his candidacy for a further term as FIFA president.

“Key questions regarding the background, responsibilities and decision-making processes remain unanswered,” association president Peter Knabel said.

“As these have not been convincingly clarified, we cannot justify continuing to support Gianni Infantino’s candidacy.”

Infantino is Swiss. FIFA and UEFA are both headquartered in Switzerland. The withdrawal from his home federation lands seven weeks before the 18 November deadline for alternative candidates to enter the race.

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He is not without backers. On 13 August, the heads of six Arab national football associations, Qatar, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt and Mauritania, signed a joint statement in support of his re-election bid.

“We, the undersigned leaders of our respective football associations, express our full support for Mr Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, and reaffirm our confidence in his leadership and continued commitment to the development of football worldwide,” the statement read.

The federation presidents of Morocco, Qatar, Egypt and Mauritania sit on the FIFA Council. Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup, and Morocco will co-host in 2030.

UEFA leads the opposition

Three of FIFA’s six confederations have publicly called for Infantino to leave office over the aborted FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, a plan floated in July to sell stakes in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors. UEFA has 55 member federations, the AFC has 46, and CONCACAF has 41, together grouping 136 of FIFA’s 211 members.

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Confederations do not control how their members vote. Each association casts its own ballot in Rabat, and the Arab list is proof: Qatar and Lebanon are AFC members and backed Infantino against the position taken by the leadership of their own confederation.

CAF, African football’s governing body, and South America’s CONMEBOL have continued to work with Infantino. Four of the six federations that signed the August statement, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt and Mauritania, are African.

FIFA fires back at UEFA in Florida

On 29 September, FIFA accused UEFA of a “misinformation campaign” aimed at the election, in filings made with the US Southern District of Florida court.

FIFA said UEFA’s submission contained “numerous false or misleading statements about FIFA and Infantino” and denied that the president had sought any personal benefit from the FFE plan.

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“With no basis whatsoever, UEFA suggests that Mr Infantino sought to profit personally,” FIFA’s filing stated.

UEFA has used the US court process to seek documents it wants to use in potential Swiss proceedings. In its own filings, UEFA described the FFE proposal as “a fraudulently off-market price promoted by [Infantino] for his own benefit” and accused him of “criminal mismanagement”.

Candidate nominations close at 11:59pm local time in Zurich on 18 November. A challenger needs the support of at least five member associations to appear on the ballot, and UEFA’s 55 member federations are due to meet in Berlin next week to discuss finding one. The 77th FIFA Congress, where the vote will take place, convenes on 18 March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco.

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