Swiss FA withdraws backing for Infantino ahead of 2027 FIFA vote
Swiss Football Association ends support for fellow Swiss Gianni Infantino's lone bid for re-election as FIFA president, citing unanswered governance concerns.
Illustrative photo: phillipkofler / Pixabay
The Swiss Football Association (SFV) has formally withdrawn its endorsement of Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president ahead of the election scheduled for next March.
Home-country rebuke for FIFA chief
Meeting last Friday, the SFV executive board “decided to withdraw the support it had declared in June 2026 for Gianni Infantino’s candidacy for a further term as FIFA president”, the governing body announced on Wednesday.
The move is symbolically powerful: Infantino is Swiss, and the headquarters of both FIFA and UEFA sit on Swiss soil.
SFV president Peter Knabel said Swiss football expected “the highest standards of transparency, accountability and institutional responsibility” from world football’s leadership.
“Key questions regarding the background, responsibilities and decision-making processes remain unanswered,” Knabel added. “As these have not been convincingly clarified, we cannot justify continuing to support Gianni Infantino’s candidacy.”
Fallout from shelved FFE plan and World Cup controversy
Infantino has faced mounting criticism since July, when he proposed creating a commercial subsidiary under the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) banner to run marquee events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.
The plan would have opened the door for private investors to buy stakes in the new company. A fierce backlash from national associations forced FIFA to shelve the idea within weeks.
The SFV statement also highlighted this year’s World Cup incident in which United States forward Folarin Balogun had a one-match red-card suspension lifted after US President Donald Trump telephoned Infantino. The Swiss body said the episode, along with the FFE proposal, had triggered “fundamental questions over leadership, governance, transparency and decision-making processes”.
Although Infantino last week offered “a consultation” with member federations on governance reforms, Knabel said the move “could contribute to improving the situation”.
What happens next?
UEFA, to which the SFV belongs, is already leading calls for Infantino’s removal, while Saudi Arabia—hosts of the 2034 World Cup—plus the African confederation CAF and South American body CONMEBOL remain in his corner.
Nominations for the FIFA presidency close on 18 November. Infantino remains the only candidate so far.
In stressing its “special responsibility” as the association based in FIFA’s home country, the SFV vowed to keep working within the global football community for “transparency, credible and reliable structure, rules-based decision-making processes”.
Source: Free Malaysia Today. This article was compiled by the iBET.news newsroom from the source report and other public information.
