Concacaf countries considering withdrawing support for under-fire Gianni Infantino

A number of Concacaf countries are considering following Europe’s lead by formally removing their support for the Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

All 41 members of Concacaf, the confederation which represents North America, Central America and the Caribbean, are understood to have submitted letters of endorsement for Infantino’s re-election campaign before the World Cup, but many are now giving serious consideration to withdrawing them.

Finland became the first of Fifa’s 211 member associations to publicly withdraw its letter of support last Thursday, followed on Monday by the FA of Wales whose chair Laura McAllister had proposed the World Cup boycott at an emergency Uefa meeting last week, while the FA is also understood to have written to Fifa withholding their backing for Infantino.

Concacaf held an emergency meeting last Friday, with a source who attended telling the Guardian that all members are strongly aligned with Uefa, which has led the calls for Infantino to go.

The Concacaf meeting is understood to have featured pledges from several countries to withdraw their backing for Infantino, and some may have already done so in private.

One potential difficulty for Concacaf is the fact that four of its members – the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica – are bidding to stage the 2031 Women’s World Cup in the next hosting decision to be taken by Fifa.

While there are no other bids currently on the table, the decision still has to be approved by Fifa at an extraordinary general meeting to be held in November.

The United States Soccer Federation is understood to be deeply unhappy with Infantino, particularly with the backlash his dealings with Donald Trump created for them over the Folarin Balogun affair, but given the political sensitivities, may not feel able to take him on.

Another complicating factor is the fact that the Concacaf president, Victor Montagliani, has been widely touted as the potential candidate most able to take Infantino on in next March’s presidential election.

Although Montagliani has called for a thorough review of Fifa’s governance, the Canadian has yet to decide whether he wants to stand, and told the Guardian in an interview last month that his priority is being re-elected as president of Concacaf, whose elections will also take place next year.

While Concacaf is united, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which also backed the Uefa-led opposition to Infantino’s proposed World Cup sell-off, appears to have splintered since last week’s dramatic events.

Significantly, the financial powerhouses of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have both publicly backed Infantino to stay on, as have smaller countries such as Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Kuwait and Bhutan.

While most of the AFC’s 47 members – including Saudi Arabia – have stayed silent, Uefa is hoping it can attract their support, but it remains unclear whether the rebels have the numbers to force a genuine electoral contest.

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