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Six Arab football federations, including Qatar and Morocco, have thrown their weight behind FIFA President Gianni Infantino as opposition to his leadership grows ahead of next year’s presidential election.
The federation chiefs expressed their support in a joint statement as Infantino faces mounting pressure over his withdrawn proposal to sell a 20 per cent stake in the commercial rights to FIFA competitions to private investors.
The proposal was expected to raise about $4.2bn, but triggered opposition from three major confederations UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF which have called for Infantino to step down.
The statement backing the FIFA president was signed by the heads of the football federations of Qatar, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt and Mauritania. Four of the six signatories are also members of the FIFA Council.
“Recognising the important role of Arab football in bringing people together and strengthening cooperation among football associations across the Arab world, we … express our full support for Mr Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, and reaffirm our confidence in his leadership and continued commitment to the development of football worldwide,” they said.
The six federations also praised Infantino’s efforts to expand football opportunities across different regions and strengthen cooperation among football associations.
“We deeply appreciate Mr Infantino’s sustained efforts to advance football globally, expand opportunities across all regions and strengthen the game’s role in bringing people and communities together,” the statement added.
Infantino’s withdrawn investment proposal had also included a $20m grant for each FIFA member association in the next funding cycle, with the amount potentially doubling for associations that backed the deal.
Despite the opposition from UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF, Infantino retains considerable support among FIFA’s 211 member associations, which will vote in the presidential election scheduled for March next year.
Note: The reference to “Arab football federations” in this context relates to the federations’ participation in the wider Arab football network (The FIFA Arab cup) and their use of Arabic as an official or widely used language.
It should not be read as suggesting that all Sudanese or Mauritanian people share a single ethnic identity or identities relating to an Arab context.
Sudan and Mauritania have diverse populations and complex identities shaped by Arab, African and other cultural influences, while both countries are members of the Arab League and Arabic is widely spoken in each country.
