Scottish FA withdraws support for Infantino ahead of 2027 Fifa presidential vote

The Scottish Football Association has publicly withdrawn its support for Fifa president Gianni Infantino, confirming it will not back him at the presidential re-election in early 2027.

Chief executive Ian Maxwell told the BBC that the SFA’s position had been clear since Uefa issued its collective statement opposing Infantino’s controversial plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions — a proposal Infantino shelved last month.

“We have aligned ourselves with the Uefa position and 55 nations are stronger than one voice,” Maxwell said. “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.”

The SFA’s declaration follows similar moves by the English FA, Welsh FA and Football Association of Ireland, all of which have backed Uefa’s stance. Infantino has now lost the support of three confederations — Uefa, Conmebol and the Asian Football Confederation — though the picture remains divided at national level.

Uefa has accused Fifa of breaking trust through “deception” and stated that Infantino has so far failed to acknowledge his proposal was fundamentally wrong. Last week it emerged that Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC have begun preliminary discussions about organising competitions among themselves should they choose to boycott Fifa events.

Not all associations have turned against the Fifa president, however. Argentina, Morocco and Mexico have backed Infantino, and the African Football Confederation has done so unanimously, underlining the significant split now running through world football’s governing structures.