More countries pull support for FIFA President Infantino

Serbia and Sweden joined Wales on Monday to pull their support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino. This move adds to the challenges facing his campaign for re-election amid rising criticism of his leadership.

The backlash comes after FIFA dropped its plan to sell a 20 percent stake in a new company managing competitions like the FIFA World Cup to private investors.

This plan was expected to bring in up to $4.2 billion but was canceled on Friday due to strong pushback from various stakeholders.

In a statement, the Football Association of Serbia said it changed its earlier decision to support Infantino.
"The Football Association of Serbia has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino for a new term as President of FIFA."

"We remind that we provided Mr. Infantino with our support on May 25 of this year in written form, but after carefully reviewing the events that have recently damaged the image and reputation of both FIFA and its President, this is the only logical and rational decision."

The Swedish Football Association also declared it would no longer back the FIFA president.
"At an extraordinary board meeting on Monday, SvFF has chosen not to support FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the upcoming re-election."

"This is after a long-term assessment of the development within FIFA and the organization’s leadership. The decision is based on recurring shortcomings in governance, transparency and management, which means that trust in Gianni Infantino’s leadership no longer exists."

Earlier on Monday, Wales became the first national football association to officially withdraw its support for Infantino.
England’s Football Association is also expected to follow suit, according to Reuters.

These withdrawals show a significant increase in opposition to Infantino. Questions are still being asked about FIFA’s governance and leadership after the failure of its proposed commercial investment plan.