Scottish FA Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino
The Scottish FA has walked away from Gianni Infantino.
Ian Maxwell, the governing body’s chief executive, says the SFA has lost confidence in the Fifa president and will not back him when he seeks re-election in early 2027.
That is not a minor crack in the façade. It is another clear break in what used to be a solid European power base for Infantino.
Scotland joins the revolt
Infantino has been under mounting fire over his attempt to set up a new company, Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), to control the commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups. Under the plan, 21% of the venture would have been sold to a private investment firm.
The backlash was ferocious. Uefa led the resistance, other confederations followed, and the scheme was scrapped.
For Maxwell, that episode crossed a line.
“The position of the SFA has been clear since the 55 Uefa associations met,” he told BBC Sport, speaking as he unveiled Belgian coach Sebastian Pocognoli as Scotland’s new head coach. “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.”
That is as blunt as it gets from Hampden.
Pressure on Infantino intensifies
The SFA stance mirrors that of the Football Associations of England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, all of whom have already withdrawn support for Infantino. He is still scheduled to stand for a fourth term in March, but the political ground beneath him is shifting.
Last week, Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation escalated the confrontation. In an open letter, they accused Fifa and Infantino of breaking trust “through deception”. They said the row over FFE was not just a commercial dispute but a question of “the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it”.
Infantino was not named. He did not need to be. Sources have told BBC Sport the letter should be read as an invitation for the president to step aside and leave office on his own terms.
The pressure keeps coming from another angle too. Fifa has promised to present a report on FFE to the next council meeting, expected in October. For the three confederations, that is nowhere near enough.
They argue that any serious examination of such a “profound lack of judgement” must be handled by a fully independent third party, not by Fifa itself. Their statement also echoed Uefa’s legal warning that Fifa must not delete or destroy any documents linked to the abandoned project.
Talk of breakaways, but no challenger yet
Behind the public statements, the stakes are even higher. BBC Sport understands there have been preliminary conversations between Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC about possible breakaway competitions if Infantino refuses to budge and remains in office.
Those talks are at a very early stage. People close to the discussions insist nothing substantive has started. But the fact that such scenarios are even being explored underlines the depth of the rift.
Maxwell, meanwhile, pushed back at the idea that the SFA had stayed quiet for too long because its president, Mike Mulraney, chairs the Fifa finance committee. He rejected any suggestion that role had muted Scotland’s voice over Infantino’s leadership.
For all the turmoil, one striking detail remains: as things stand, no one has formally stepped forward to run against Infantino. The deadline for candidates is 18 November.
Europe’s big hitters are peeling away. Trust is being questioned in public. Breakaway whispers are in the air.
Yet, for now, the most powerful job in world football has only one man preparing to stand for it.
