New Zealand Football withdraws support for Gianni Infantino as Oceania praises FIFA president’s progress
New Zealand Football withdraws support for Gianni Infantino as Oceania praises FIFA president’s progress
New Zealand has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino but the Oceania confederation has praised the “progress achieved” under the FIFA president, after Infantino was forced to scrap his proposal to sell off stakes in FIFA competitions to private investment.
Split stance within Oceania
The 56-year-old president has already lost support from European football’s governing body UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, the body overseeing football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The Oceania Football Confederation, of which New Zealand are a part, on Friday welcomed the withdrawal of Infantino’s FFE plan but stopped short of removing its support for the president and praised the “progress” of the last decade under his leadership. That statement came after a meeting of its executive committee in Fiji this week.
On the same day, New Zealand Football, co-hosts for the women’s World Cup in 2023, said it had “formally withdrawn” its support for Infantino and called for an independent review into the development of his FFE proposal.
“After careful consideration, NZF has formed the view that decisions and actions within FIFA have contributed to a breakdown in trust and increased division within international football, and that an independent review is required to restore confidence and trust,” it read.
“NZF believes this point in time represents an opportunity for all FIFA member associations to advocate for stronger governance, accountability and transparency which are fundamental in maintaining confidence of the administration of the global game.”
Growing opposition ahead of re-election
New Zealand’s statement follows the Football Association of Ireland becoming the latest European nation to withdraw its support for Infantino’s re-election on Thursday.
Any opposition to Infantino’s position as president has until November 18 to put up at least one rival candidate to take on the incumbent, for the next presidential election in March.
Infantino still retains support from multiple nations and confederations, notably the Confederation of African Football and Conmebol, the South American body, alongside the OFC.
Patrice Motsepe, the president of CAF, on Thursday warned those opposing Infantino to be “very careful” in an interview with Sky News.
“Shouldn’t we allow that process (of a re-election) to continue? And let the 211 members decide.”
The OFC has 13 member associations, 11 of which are full members of FIFA and two which are associate members not affiliated with the governing body, Kiribati and Tuvalu. New Zealand are the only one of OFC’s member nations to have qualified for a World Cup, with previous member Australia now part of the AFC.