Mexico Backs FIFA President Gianni Infantino Amid Rising Pressure
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has declared its support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, breaking away from Concacaf’s criticism as pressure mounts on the Swiss official following the collapse of his private investment proposal.
Concacaf Calls for Leadership Review
Concacaf, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, recently urged a “comprehensive reckoning” of Infantino’s leadership after he abandoned plans to sell stakes in FIFA competitions — including the men’s and women’s World Cups — to private investors.
Mexico’s Public Endorsement
Despite Concacaf’s position, Mexico, a co‑host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, publicly endorsed Infantino and called on member associations to continue working within FIFA’s established structures.
“The FMF supports president Infantino’s leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening,” the federation said in a statement.
The FMF also backed the stance taken by South American governing body Conmebol, insisting that any move to remove the FIFA president must involve a vote by all 211 member associations.
“The FMF will neither recognise nor approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework, and it joins the call made by president Infantino to collectively continue developing football for the benefit of the 211 member associations,” the statement added.
Conmebol and Argentina’s Reaction
Conmebol also criticised the way recent events unfolded, expressing concern about repeated unilateral actions taken without dialogue or the use of existing institutional mechanisms.
Argentina’s Football Association rallied behind the FIFA chief, praising him for acknowledging and apologising for his “errors”. It described his decade in charge as being “centred on the development of soccer worldwide and institutional strength based on a clear, stable, and transparent governance model”.
Continued Support and Growing Opposition
Infantino continues to enjoy unanimous backing from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), but resistance remains strong in Europe and North America.
UEFA has maintained its opposition despite FIFA abandoning the proposal. Europe’s governing body warned that confidence would not be restored without stronger guarantees.
“Assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again,” a UEFA statement read. “These conditions have not been met.”
UEFA has previously described the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal” and says it has lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership.
The English FA has also withdrawn its support for the 56‑year‑old, with Wales, Albania and Croatia among the national associations that have distanced themselves from him.
Concacaf’s Criticism and AFC’s Earlier Stance
Concacaf accused Infantino of presiding over “a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first”, adding that “this recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour”. However, unlike UEFA, Concacaf stopped short of declaring that it had lost confidence in the FIFA president.
Before the proposal was withdrawn, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had aligned itself with UEFA and Concacaf in opposing the plans.
Details of the Abandoned Investment Plan
Infantino’s proposal would have handed each FIFA member association $40 million (£30 million) in return for backing private investment in FIFA tournaments through the FIFA Forward Enterprise subsidiary.
Following a meeting of FIFA executives in Morocco, world football’s governing body admitted that “mistakes” had been made during the process. FIFA said it was “not the intention” for the FIFA Council and member associations to “feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently”.
UEFA, however, remained unmoved. “UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds,” the football body said. “Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the FIFA president (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing.”
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