Politics

The English Football Association is set to write to Fifa president Gianni Infantino withdrawing its support amid fallout from his scrapped plans to sell off stakes in Fifa competitions to private investors. The move comes as Uefa threatens legal action over the proposals and Wales publicly withdraws backing for Infantino's bid to continue as Fifa president. Infantino is set to stand for re-election for a fourth and final term as president in March, requiring 106 votes from Fifa's 211 members to win. The withdrawal of support from major football associations represents a significant blow to his candidacy as opposition to his leadership grows. Infantino's leadership has already been publicly questioned by football's governing bodies in Europe, North and Central America and the Caribbean. Uefa and Concacaf released statements criticising the plans, which would have created a commercial subsidiary to run Fifa's main events, including its World Cups, with external investors able to buy stakes in it. ## Legal action and document preservation Uefa said in a letter to Infantino that it is actively considering legal action, arbitration, and regulatory complaints arising from the proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan. The European governing body has demanded immediate steps to preserve all documents and electronically stored information in Fifa's possession independent of internal policies that may result in routine document destruction or deletion. Uefa's request for document preservation includes email, instant messages on WhatsApp, Signal, Teams, Slack or any other platform, SMS, written correspondence and meeting notes. The request covers all materials involving any Fifa officer, employee, committee member, consultant or agent, or any Fifa member association, confederation, broadcaster, sponsor, or financial institution. Uefa asked Infantino to acknowledge receipt of the letter in writing within five business days. ## The investment proposal and withdrawal of support Fifa and Infantino wanted to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events, with external investors able to buy minority, non-controlling stakes. Infantino wrote to all 211 Fifa member associations saying they would receive $40m (£30m) if they backed the proposal, setting a deadline of 19 September if they wanted to access an initial $20m (£15m). Thrive Eternal, an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, was expected to lead the proposed investor group. As pressure grows on Infantino, Serbia, Sweden and Finland have also withdrawn their support. However, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Sri Lanka have pledged their support for his Fifa leadership to continue. The Asian Football Federation has said it stands in solidarity with Uefa and Concacaf, while Africa, Conmebol and Oceania have not criticised Infantino's plan. > We cannot keep putting out fires because of unilateral plans. I really hope now that we can have a change of leadership next year. Uefa vice-president Laura McAllister made those remarks to BBC Radio 5 Live, describing the prospect of legal action as a clear call for action over what she called an abysmal governance process. She expressed hope that others will follow in withdrawing their support for Infantino in what she described as a big moment in the history of football. ## Council emergency meeting possibility The Fifa Council could attempt to force Infantino to resign through an emergency meeting, which would be triggered if 19 of the 37 Fifa Council members call for one. The meeting must take place within two weeks of being called. Uefa has nine members on the council, the AFC has seven, Concacaf five, Africa has six, Conmebol five and Oceania three, with the position completed by Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom. The Scottish FA's position on the future of Infantino remains aligned with Uefa's lack of confidence in the 56-year-old. A motion to call an emergency council meeting will not be submitted until Uefa is certain it has the required numbers, but that could be where the situation is heading next.

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