Infantino backed by allies as Norwegian FA seeks resignation

August 07, 2026 / 5:50 PM

Sharjah 24: Football appeared to be heading for a prolonged confrontation on Friday after allies of FIFA President Gianni Infantino declared their support for him, while the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) stood by its threat to boycott all FIFA competitions and events.

Continental and national football associations continued to stake out their positions a week after Infantino withdrew his proposal to raise around $4.2 billion by selling a stake in the commercial rights to the FIFA World Cup and other tournaments.

Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klaveness said Infantino no longer enjoyed the confidence of the football community.

Lawyer Klaveness said: "He does not have the institutional trust required to lead FIFA with stability under the current circumstances. There is no turning back for Gianni Infantino. International co-operation in football is facing a major crisis, and we must now find a reason to unite. We are calling on the FIFA president to resign immediately."

Meanwhile, UEFA, which has 55 member associations, maintained its threat to boycott all FIFA competitions and events.

However, the football associations of Mexico and Argentina became the latest to throw their weight behind the embattled FIFA president, following the unanimous backing given to Infantino's leadership by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) expressed concern over the "repeated unilateral actions taken without dialogue".

Mexico breaks ranks

The Mexican Football Federation, representing one of the host nations of the recently concluded FIFA World Cup, broke with the position of its regional confederation by backing Infantino, after the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) called for a "full accounting" of his presidency.

Concacaf has been among FIFA's strongest critics, alongside UEFA, which announced on Thursday that the fundamental conditions for the return of its national teams to FIFA competitions had not been met.

UEFA said it remained committed to boycotting the FIFA World Cup until it received guarantees that "such attempts to damage the image of the game in this way will never happen again".

UEFA has yet to announce whether its national teams will miss FIFA's next tournament, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which is due to be held in Poland next month.