The heads of six Arab football federations expressed their “full support” and “confidence” in Gianni Infantino on Thursday as the embattled FIFA president fights to keep his job after his failed World Cup private investment plan.
The backing came from 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan, with four of the signatories being FIFA council members.
“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.
“We deeply appreciate Mr. Infantino’s sustained efforts to advance football globally, expand opportunities across all regions and strengthen the game’s role in bringing people and communities together.”
The statement said the signatories “look forward to continuing our close cooperation with him towards a stronger and more prosperous future for world football, expanding opportunities and further enhancing Arab football’s contribution to the global game.”
Infantino is facing a revolt after his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. He withdrew the $20 billion proposal after a furious backlash by global soccer officials, including European body UEFA, which has warned of a boycott of all FIFA games and events.
UEFA teamed up with CONCACAF — the confederation for North, Central America and the Caribbean — and the AFC — the confederation in Asia — and issued an open letter Monday saying Infantino’s plan was a “fundamental breach of trust” and described it as “deception.”
And on Thursday, the Football Association of Ireland said in a statement it has withdrawn its support for Infantino to be reelected as FIFA president in March, saying “recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.”
The football federations in England and Wales did the same last week, while Northern Ireland said it was backing UEFA’s stance.
By expressing support for Infantino, Qatar and Lebanon aligned against the Asian Football Confederation. Infantino’s official Instagram account previously has posted letters of support from several member federations, including Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The four FIFA council members among the signatories were Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida, Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa and Mauritanian Football Federation president Ahmed Yahya.
The other two were Lebanese Football Association president Hashem Haidar and Moatasem Gafar, president of the Sudan Football Association.
Also on Thursday Patrice Motsepe, a FIFA vice president and president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), said that if opponents want to “take out” Infantino they must follow procedure and go through the ballot box.
“If anybody has got any problem against anybody, whether it’s Gianni, whether it is anybody else, follow the process, follow the FIFA process, simple as that,” Motsepe told Sky News.
“If you want to take him out, go for elections; let the 211 member associations decide. Do that and the vote will express whether they’ve got confidence in him or not.
“You’ve got to be very careful. There are elections taking place next year. Shouldn’t we allow that process to continue?”
Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016 and seemed sure to be reelected unopposed next year in Morocco.
FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to come forward.
Information from The Associated Press and PA was used in this report.
