National governing bodies across Europe are discussing withdrawing their formal endorsements of Gianni Infantino, with announcements likely in the coming days. The groundswell of opposition follows the collapse of the Fifa president's privately backed scheme to sell off chunks of the World Cup, which was largely scuppered when Uefa member associations threatened to boycott future Fifa competitions.
Support letters set to be withdrawn
Before last week's crisis unfolded, all of Uefa's 55 members apart from Germany, Romania and Norway had written letters endorsing Infantino's candidature for a fourth term next March. A fourth term had been viewed as a fait accompli. Now, a simultaneous withdrawal of those letters is being mooted, though member associations could also remove their backing one by one. Either way, the move would effectively amount to a vote of no confidence and would increase the pressure on Infantino to resign. Fifa must be notified by any country wishing to recall its letter.
Confederations divided
Discussions are continuing with countries in other confederations. Despite the failure of the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal, a number of countries in the Asian Football Confederation publicly backed Infantino over the weekend. European football sources have questioned whether those federations have been made fully aware of the level of dissent Infantino now faces.
After the financial powerhouse of Qatar backed Infantino on Saturday, smaller Asian associations Sri Lanka and Kuwait offered their public support on Sunday. The AFC rarely votes en masse, however, and it is possible that some associations unhappy with Infantino could rally to the European cause.
Endorsement pressure revealed
The Guardian revealed in July that more than 200 of Fifa's 211 members had provided letters of endorsement for Infantino. Fifa is understood to have applied heavy pressure on those wavering, even though his tenure did not appear endangered at the time. Many backed him despite privately harbouring misgivings about his presidency, but in Europe and beyond, patience has run out.
Efforts to identify a candidate to replace Infantino are being stepped up. Anyone put forward for the election would require significant levels of support outside Europe, particularly from the AFC and Concacaf. Gathering quickly around a suitable contender could be key to persuading Infantino that his position is untenable.
Infantino fights on
Infantino appears determined to stay on and is believed to be lobbying individual member associations across the globe to retain their support. Both the Confederation of African Football and the South American confederation, Conmebol, are fully behind him, leaving Asia and North America as the crucial battlegrounds as Uefa members seek a new leadership at Fifa.
