Uefa says boycott may still go ahead as FA withdraws Infantino support

UEFA is grappling with a predicament as it seeks to distance itself from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, yet the Swiss leader shows no inclination to step aside. European football appears isolated in its effort to muster enough support to unseat him. On Thursday, Lamin Kaba Bajo, president of the Gambia Football Federation, praised Infantino's "courage" and for the U-turn, and said he was "willing to springiness him my enactment much than ever". Only Jordan, one of the few nations that had not backed Infantino the previous week, has publicly declared it will not vote for his re-election in March. Concacaf remains the sole confederation to have issued a national statement after the talks were abandoned, but unlike UEFA it stopped short of saying it had lost confidence in the FIFA president. Conmebol, the South American confederation, stated on Thursday it would not support "any enactment oregon process that disregards" FIFA's mechanisms ahead of the presidential election. Ideally, UEFA would convene an emergency meeting of the FIFA Council to create a genuine opportunity to hold Infantino accountable. However, securing the required backing from 19 of the 36 confederation and association heads has proved exceptionally difficult. UEFA has retained the option of launching a vote of no confidence, which it can trigger via an extraordinary legislature at any time. To succeed, it would need a majority of FIFA’s 211 member associations – 106 votes – to pass the motion, effectively amounting to a presidential election without a second candidate. If UEFA doubts it can reach the 106‑vote threshold, which appears unlikely, there is little point in initiating the vote. An alternative route is to seek a unity challenger to oppose Infantino in the March contest, with Concacaf president Victor Montagliani seen as the favoured contender. Any delay affords Infantino time to build bridges, and with FIFA poised to announce fresh funding for member associations by year’s end, he could dangle another incentive for his re‑election. Unless UEFA adheres to the nuclear option and follows through with its threat of a boycott, the situation remains unresolved. Such a move carries risks and is not a lever that can be pulled frequently; otherwise it invites the perception of riding roughshod over the rest of the world. It is one thing to use it to discard the FFE proposal, quite another to employ it to effectively dethrone the president. UEFA’s stance will soon be tested, as the FIFA Women’s U20s World Cup gets underway in Poland on 5 September. Six European nations, including England, are set to participate. Read the full story at BBC News →