Football Australia chair Anter Isaac dismisses Fifa crisis as 'growing pains'

Football Australia chief plays down Fifa turmoil

Football Australia chair Anter Isaac has dismissed the recent upheaval at Fifa — including Gianni Infantino's controversial World Cup privatisation push — as mere "growing pains," as the embattled president's support base continues to widen ahead of a key Asian football gathering in Tokyo.

Isaac's comments come as continental powerbrokers converge on the Japanese capital this week for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) congress. While Fifa's leadership and governance are not formally on the meeting agenda, they are expected to dominate sideline discussions alongside the likelihood of January's Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia going ahead.

Appearing on the little-known sports business YouTube channel Beyond the Game with Dillon and Rafael earlier this month — an episode viewed fewer than 200 times — Isaac was asked about the state of world football's governing body.

"We can look at it and be unsophisticated and say, what a mess," he told the hosts. "Or we can take a more responsible, mature view and say, you know what, these are growing pains."

The Football Australia chair pointed to Fifa's exploding revenues across recent World Cup cycles, arguing that the organisation's "systems and processes" had simply not kept pace with its commercial expansion. He was adamant that the intentions of those within football are "always in the best interests" of the sport.

Infantino's fortunes on the rebound

Isaac's sentiments arrive amid a striking reversal in Infantino's standing. At one stage, the Swiss lawyer appeared unlikely to survive in his role following criticism led by officials in Europe and North America. But he now enjoys backing from South America, Africa and growing chunks of Asia — a bloc large enough to secure victory in next March's Fifa presidential election.

The pressure on Infantino had been mounting. Reporting from 1 October 2026 noted that Uefa had accused him of "criminal mismanagement" over the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, while the Swiss Football Association became the latest member federation to withdraw its support. The FFE plan has since been abandoned.

The AFC's own position has shifted. A joint letter co-signed by AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa in August — to which Football Australia's own statement was broadly aligned — demanded "leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it," and called for "clear and credible action" without going as far as demanding Infantino's resignation. Since then, Salman has softened his stance, calling instead for strengthened Fifa governance as nations including Qatar and the UAE have indicated support for the Fifa president.

Uefa presses for answers

This week, Uefa sent a letter to Fifa demanding explanations over the proposed sale of 20% of its commercial rights under the now-abandoned FFE, the Folarin Balogun affair and relations with Donald Trump.

The missive follows last week's Fifa council meeting in Zurich — the first since FFE came to light. Infantino fielded questions but declined to give comprehensive answers, instead calling for written questions ahead of the next council meeting in Doha on 16 December.

Isaac coy on election backing

Isaac said it was "premature" to say whether he would support Infantino at next year's election. While noting he holds his "own views" and wished to avoid being openly critical, he framed much of the criticism of the Fifa president as a matter of "process."

"I've been encouraged that, right across the board, everyone is now focusing on that [process] with a view to, OK, let's try and diagnose, what maybe could have been done differently or better, so that in future — and we codify it — so that in future we avoid it and what's happened in this particular situation," he said.

He also urged caution in judging football's institutions from the outside. "If I had the same information that most critics or the general public have, I would probably draw the same conclusions as them. But I don't. I have a lot more information. I see a lot more that happens," he said. "So when I reflect on Fifa and major institutions in football, I see a lot of the incredible work that they do ... that goes unnoticed in supporting and serving and servicing different stakeholders, especially the ones that need the greatest help."