Scottish FA Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino Ahead of FIFA Vote

The Scottish Football Association has withdrawn its support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino and will not vote for him at the next presidential election. Chief executive Ian Maxwell confirmed the decision to BBC Sport while announcing Sebastian Pocognoli as Scotland's new head coach, saying the SFA agreed with the position taken collectively by UEFA's 55 member associations.

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The dispute centres on FIFA Forward Enterprise, a proposal to create a company controlling the commercial and ticketing rights for FIFA competitions, including the World Cups. Under the plan, a 21% stake would have been sold to a private investment company. FIFA later abandoned the project after criticism from several confederations, with UEFA threatening to boycott FIFA competitions.

Maxwell said the Scottish association had lost confidence in FIFA's leadership and would not back Infantino when he seeks re-election in early 2027. He also rejected the suggestion that Scotland had avoided stating its position because SFA president Mike Mulraney chairs FIFA's finance committee. The football associations of England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland had already declared that they would not support Infantino.

Pressure increased last week when UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation issued an open letter accusing FIFA and Infantino of breaking trust through deception. The letter said the controversy concerned the integrity of football and its elected leadership. Those confederations also argued that FIFA's planned report on the abandoned proposal, due for its council meeting expected in October, should instead be handled by a fully independent third party.

BBC Sport reported that preliminary discussions about possible breakaway competitions have taken place among the three confederations, but other sources said substantive talks have not begun. No challenger has yet declared against Infantino ahead of the 18 November nomination deadline. FIFA's 211 member associations ultimately vote in the presidential election, while its 36-member council also appears divided.

Support is split across world football. The African, South American and Oceania confederations have backed Infantino, although New Zealand has departed from Oceania's position. Several Concacaf and Asian members have also broken with their regional blocs to support him. An early practical test of UEFA's boycott warning may arrive at the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland, which BBC Sport said was scheduled to begin in just over three weeks and includes six European teams.