Scotland become 21st nation to withdraw support for Infantino as FIFA faces growing revolt

The Scottish Football Association has become the 21st football association to publicly withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, joining a coalition of national bodies and confederations that includes UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, and CONCACAF in opposing his continued leadership.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell confirmed the position in an interview with BBC Sport, stating: “The position of the SFA has been clear since the 55 UEFA associations met. We have aligned ourselves with the UEFA position, and 55 nations are stronger than one voice. Their statement since then has talked about a lack of confidence in the FIFA leadership, and the Scottish FA agree completely with that decision. The SFA will not be voting for Gianni Infantino come the re-election in early 2027.”

Scotland join Albania, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Jordan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sweden, and Wales in formally opposing Infantino.

The growing political pressure on Infantino has been compounded by a separate challenge from non-profit organisation FairSquare, which has written to FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) calling for Infantino to be ruled ineligible to stand for another term altogether. The letter argues that he is already serving his third and final term under FIFA’s statutory limits, which cap any individual at three terms in office.

The argument centres on Infantino’s first term, which lasted three years rather than the standard four after he succeeded the suspended Sepp Blatter. The FIFA Council confirmed in a late 2022 press release that this shortened period “does not count as a term of office”, a ruling the GACC supported at the time. FairSquare disputes that interpretation, stating: “A previous decision of the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee to discount his first term clearly violates the letter and purpose of the FIFA statutory provision on presidential term limits.”

The organisation goes further, outlining a hypothetical scenario in which a president could call early elections repeatedly to reset term limits and “remain in power indefinitely”, warning that “in view of Mr Infantino’s various abuses of power and the failure of the FIFA Council to hold him to account, such a scenario is plausible.”

Infantino does retain significant backing from other confederations, including the Confederation of African Football and the South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL, meaning the 2027 presidential election — should he be permitted to stand — is far from a foregone conclusion against him.