Irish FA statement calls for change with withdrawal of support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino
The Irish Football Association has officially confirmed the decision to withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino with a statement declaring “we believe the time has come for change”.
The IFA decision adds to the list of governing bodies – including FAs for England, Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland – to make a public comment in the wake of the plan to sell stakes in a World Cup company to private investors.
"The Irish FA has withdrawn its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino,” read the IFA statement. "The proposal to sell part of FIFA’s assets to a private equity firm without consultation represents more than a failure of communication. In our view, it raises fundamental questions about strategy, governance and stewardship of our assets. We believe the time has come for change.”
Following controversy around the doomed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) private company proposal announced in July, three confederations – UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC – are reported to be considering bringing a no-confidence vote in Infantino at the FIFA Congress in Morocco next March.
He still appears to hold support from CAF and CONMEBOL, respectively the confederations of Africa and South America.
However, it is understood UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has ruled himself out of the running to replace Infantino as FIFA chief.
A number of high-profile players, past and present, this week called for change in a statement shared across social media platforms with support from Mikael Silvestre, Lucy Bronze and Emmanuel Petit.
It included players “share the exact same concerns as the millions of fans around the world” and “like them, we have watched the game we love drift away from its core values under FIFA’s current leadership”.