Scottish FA withdraws Infantino support as home nations turn on FIFA president

Gianni Infantino’s hopes of a fourth term at the head of world football have suffered another heavy blow, with Scotland becoming the latest home nation to withdraw its backing. The Scottish Football Association confirmed on Monday that it has lost faith in the FIFA president and will not be voting for him when he seeks re-election, with chief executive Ian Maxwell delivering the verdict as the country unveiled its new head coach.

Four home nations out

Maxwell made plain that Hampden’s position had effectively been settled when UEFA’s 55 member associations met and declared their collective unease. Scotland had aligned itself fully with that stance, he said, and considered the combined voice of those nations more powerful than any single one. The SFA, he added, endorsed UEFA’s public expression of no confidence in the leadership of the world governing body and would withhold its vote when the presidential election arrives in early 2027.

The announcement means England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and now Scotland have all turned against a president who could once rely on the British associations as dependable allies. Only the Irish Football Association in Belfast has stopped short of a formal withdrawal, having earlier voiced support for UEFA’s position.

A delicate subplot at the SFA

There was an unmistakable wrinkle in the Scottish announcement: Mike Mulraney, the SFA’s president, chairs FIFA’s finance committee, a post that might ordinarily raise questions about the association’s willingness to speak out. Maxwell rejected any suggestion that the committee role had kept the SFA quiet, insisting the two matters were entirely separate.

No challenger in sight

For all the momentum behind the rebellion, the ballot box still awaits a candidate willing to take Infantino on. No challenger has put his name forward before the 18 November deadline, leaving the Swiss-based administrator, scheduled to stand for a fourth term in March, with no declared opponent. The confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania have formally backed him, though the unity within those blocs is fraying: New Zealand has said it will ignore its confederation’s line, while a trio of CONCACAF nations — Mexico, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis — is siding with him against the region’s other 32 federations. Among Asia’s 46 members, eight have rallied to his cause, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The shadow of Fifa Forward Enterprise

The rebellion traces back to Fifa Forward Enterprise, the abandoned scheme under which private investors would have been sold a stake in the commercial and ticketing rights to every FIFA competition, World Cups included. The project collapsed amid opposition led by UEFA, which has threatened to boycott FIFA events. Last week UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian confederation accused Infantino in an open letter of breaking trust through deception, describing the episode as a matter of the integrity of the game itself. Sources have suggested the letter was intended as a final invitation to resign with dignity. FIFA has promised a report to its Council in October, but the three confederations want an investigation conducted by an independent third party, and UEFA has warned that documents relating to the abandoned plans must not be destroyed.

The first test arrives within weeks

UEFA’s threat faces its first examination in little more than three weeks, when the Under-20 Women’s World Cup kicks off in Poland with England among the European nations involved. If European teams honour the boycott, Infantino’s authority will face its most public test yet; either way, the countdown to March has just become considerably more uncomfortable for a president running out of friends at home.

Read BBC Sport’s report on the Scottish FA’s decision