The Football Association of Ireland has officially withdrawn its backing for Gianni Infantino in his bid to be re-elected as FIFA president, marking a significant shift in position from the Irish football governing body.
The FAI had previously been among the associations lending support to Infantino, who has led world football’s governing body since 2016. That support is now gone, with the FAI making clear it will not back the Swiss-French official in the upcoming presidential election.
The decision puts Ireland at odds with many of the larger football federations around the world who continue to back Infantino, and signals growing unease among some associations about the direction FIFA has taken under his leadership.
Infantino has been a deeply controversial figure during his time at the top of FIFA. His tenure has been marked by the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, the launch of a revamped Club World Cup, and a series of lucrative deals with Gulf states and other emerging football markets. Critics have argued that many of these moves prioritise money over the integrity and tradition of the game.
His close relationship with Saudi Arabia in particular has drawn scrutiny, with Infantino relocating to Riyadh and spending considerable time there as FIFA pursued major commercial partnerships with the kingdom. The decision by Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup, pushed through in a process that drew criticism over transparency, added further fuel to concerns about how FIFA is being run.
For the FAI, the withdrawal of support is a notable moment. Irish football has had its own turbulent history with FIFA and with football governance more broadly, and the association has in recent years been working to rebuild its own credibility following serious internal problems that came to a head in the late 2010s.
The FAI did not go into extensive detail publicly about the specific reasons behind the decision to pull support, but the move speaks for itself in terms of where the association now stands on Infantino’s leadership.
Infantino is widely expected to run for re-election and, given the support structures in place across many confederations, is considered likely to win another term. FIFA’s electoral system gives each member association a vote regardless of size, which means smaller nations have real influence in theory, though in practice large blocs tend to move together.
Whether the FAI’s stance will encourage other European associations to take a harder look at their own positions remains to be seen. UEFA, the European governing body, has had a complicated relationship with Infantino over the years, with tensions surfacing periodically over governance and the direction of the global game.
Irish football fans and officials will be watching closely to see how this plays out on the international stage, and whether the FAI decision becomes part of a broader conversation about accountability at the top of world football.