Belgium withdraws support for Infantino

The Royal Belgian Football Association has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president, citing concerns over transparency, governance and the handling of the controversial Folarin Balogun red-card decision at the 2026 World Cup. 

The decision came shortly after Infantino confirmed that he would seek re-election at the FIFA Congress scheduled for March 2027. If successful, the 56-year-old Swiss-Italian would remain FIFA president until 2031.

The Belgian federation said its position was driven by two major concerns. One centres on FIFA Forward Enterprise, a proposed investment structure that would have allowed private investors to take stakes linked to FIFA’s World Cup commercial interests.

The project was eventually abandoned following strong opposition, particularly from UEFA and several European football associations. Belgium said it had sought clearer explanations from FIFA on the decision-making process but had not received satisfactory answers.

The second issue is the disciplinary case involving United States forward Folarin Balogun. The player’s red-card suspension was overturned, allowing him to face Belgium in the World Cup knockout stage after an appeal.

The Belgian federation challenged the decision, but FIFA’s Appeal Committee dismissed its appeal. Belgium said FIFA had not provided adequate justification for the decision and has asked that the matter be placed on the agenda of the FIFA Council meeting on October 15.

RBFA president Pascale Van Damme said the federation’s questions remained unanswered and stressed the need for greater transparency in FIFA’s decision-making. Belgium is also working with UEFA and other European associations on reforms to FIFA’s governance processes.

Belgium’s decision adds to growing European opposition to Infantino, with Italy, Sweden and Scotland among the associations that have also withdrawn their support. However, Infantino continues to have significant backing from several other confederations, including those in Africa and South America.