Scottish FA Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino

The Scottish FA has turned its back on Gianni Infantino.

Chief executive Ian Maxwell has confirmed the governing body has lost confidence in the Fifa president and will not support him when he seeks re-election in early 2027.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Maxwell nailed Scotland’s colours firmly to the Uefa mast, on a day when he was also unveiling Belgian coach Sebastian Pocognoli as the new Scotland head coach.

“The position of the SFA has been clear since the 55 Uefa associations met,” Maxwell said. “We have aligned ourselves with the Uefa position and 55 nations are stronger than one voice.

“Their statement since then has talked about a lack of confidence in the Fifa leadership and the Scottish FA agree completely with that decision. The SFA will not be voting for Gianni Infantino come the re-election in early 2027.”

Infantino under fire over FFE plan

Infantino is facing growing hostility over the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, an attempt to create a new company to control the commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups.

Under the plan, 21% of FFE would have been sold to a private investment firm.

The idea has now been scrapped. The damage has not.

The scheme triggered a fierce backlash from several confederations, led by Uefa, which went as far as threatening a boycott of all Fifa competitions. The revolt forced Fifa to abort FFE, but it also opened a deeper debate about trust, power and governance at the top of the global game.

Last week, that anger was laid bare in an open letter issued jointly by Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation. The confederations accused Fifa and Infantino of breaking trust “through deception” and said the row over FFE was really about “the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it”.

Infantino was not named in the letter. He did not need to be. Sources have told BBC Sport it should be read as an invitation for him to step aside and leave his role with some dignity intact.

Scotland joins the growing opposition

England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland had already publicly withdrawn their backing for Infantino, who is scheduled to stand for a fourth term as Fifa president in March.

Now Scotland has followed.

Maxwell dismissed any suggestion the SFA had been slow to declare its stance because its president, Mike Mulraney, chairs the powerful Fifa finance committee. The implication that Scotland might have been conflicted was pushed away.

The SFA, Maxwell stressed, is fully in step with Uefa’s position.

Uefa and its allies have not only challenged the FFE project but also the way Fifa intends to deal with its aftermath. Fifa has promised to present a report on FFE to the next Fifa council meeting, expected in October.

For the three confederations, that is nowhere near enough.

They argue that “proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgement” demands a review by a fully independent third party, not an internal report to Fifa’s own council. Their statement also repeated Uefa’s legal warning that Fifa must not delete or destroy any documents related to the abandoned FFE plan.

Talk of breakaways – and a vacuum at the top

Behind the scenes, the stakes are rising.

BBC Sport understands there have been preliminary discussions between Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC about possible breakaway competitions if Infantino remains in office. Early soundings only, according to others close to the talks, but the fact they are being held at all underlines the level of discontent.

For now, there is still no declared challenger to Infantino ahead of the 18 November deadline for candidates to come forward.

So the picture is stark. A president under siege, powerful confederations openly questioning his integrity, major national associations – now including the Scottish FA – refusing to back him, and the threat, however distant, of rival competitions on the horizon.

World football has seen power struggles before. This one is starting to test how much strain the game’s global structures can really bear.