Scottish FA withdraws support for Fifa president Infantino

The Scottish FA has withdrawn its backing for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, highlighting a split among confederations. The African, South American and Oceania confederations have expressed support for Infantino. However, other confederations remain divided, making it difficult to predict whether Infantino or his rivals will prevail in the ongoing contest. In Oceania, which comprises 11 subordinate associations, New Zealand has declared it will not follow the confederation’s line and will not vote for him. Mexico, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis have broken away from the other 32 Concacaf nations to endorse the FIFA president. Among the 46 Asian confederation members, only 8 countries have so far backed Infantino’s candidacy: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Kuwait, Mongolia, the Philippines and Bhutan. The FIFA Council, which includes 36 confederation and nationalist relation heads plus Infantino, appears similarly split. This raises questions about whether Infantino possesses the political authority to lead FIFA, even if he secures victory in an election involving the 211 subordinate associations. The first test of UEFA’s threat is just three weeks away, when the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup is set to kick off in Poland, featuring five different European nations, including England.