The Scottish Football Association (SFA) has become the latest governing body to publicly align itself with UEFA and express a lack of confidence in FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The SFA's chief executive Ian Maxwell told the BBC Sport: "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."
SFA aligns with UEFA's stance
Maxwell continued: "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 is now the 21st football association to oppose FIFA's president. The other 20 are: 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.
FairSquare challenges Infantino's eligibility
FairSquare has called for FIFA's Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) to rule Infantino ineligible to run for another term as president. As reported by The Athletic, the non-profit organisation states in a letter that he is "already serving his third and final term", which is the maximum allowed for any individual.
Infantino's first term was for three years, rather than the full four after succeeding the suspended Sepp Blatter. The FIFA Council confirmed in a late 2022 press release its agreement with the GACC that the period "does not count as a term of office".
However, FairSquare says "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." They add: "Neither the FIFA Statutes nor the FIFA Governance Regulations make any provision for a presidential term to be discounted because it did not last for the maximum period of four years."
Infantino retains significant support
A hypothetical situation is also outlined in which Infantino repeatedly calls early elections and effectively "remains in power indefinitely". FairSquare acknowledges: "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," the letter writes.
Infantino, however, does still have significant support, including the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). Other governing bodies to express support include Argentina, Bhutan, DR Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Grenada, Indonesia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malawi, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uganda.
