Gianni Infantino Faces Growing Opposition from Irish Football Associations
The walls are closing in on Gianni Infantino.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has formally pulled its backing for the under-pressure Fifa president, becoming the latest national body to turn away from his bid for a fourth term at the top of the global game.
Across the border, the Irish Football Association (IFA) has stopped short of outright withdrawal, but it has nailed its colours to Uefa’s mast, publicly aligning itself with European football’s increasingly hostile stance.
Irish support crumbles
Infantino’s position has been badly shaken since his controversial attempt to sell a stake in Fifa’s commercial operations to a private investment company — a plan now abandoned but not forgotten. The fallout has been severe. Trust, Uefa and other confederations say, has been “broken through deception”.
On Monday, Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation signed a blunt open letter accusing the Fifa president of exactly that. The move lit the fuse. National associations have been peeling away ever since.
The Welsh FA was the first of the home nations to walk, withdrawing support last week. The English FA followed days later.
Now the FAI has joined them.
In a letter to Fifa, the Dublin-based association confirmed it has rescinded the backing it had previously offered Infantino before the post-World Cup storm over governance and commercial control erupted.
“Following an FAI board meeting, the decision was taken to rescind the letter of support that the Association supplied earlier this year,” it said.
The governing body stressed that it still values Fifa’s financial and structural backing for the Irish game, but made clear that recent events had crossed a line.
“The Association is grateful for the support that Fifa provides to Irish football, but recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.
“Considering the governance challenges that the FAI has had to overcome in recent years, the Association feels a particular obligation to advocate for and uphold best practice.”
That reference is pointed. Scarred by its own governance crisis in the past decade, the FAI is now positioning itself as a voice for reform rather than a quiet supporter of the status quo in Zurich.
Northern Ireland backs Uefa line
In Belfast, the IFA is moving more cautiously, but the direction of travel is clear.
While it has not yet formally withdrawn its support for Infantino, Northern Ireland’s governing body has acknowledged the “wider concerns” sweeping through the game and has publicly endorsed Uefa’s position.
“We take our responsibilities as a member association of both Uefa and Fifa seriously,” an IFA spokesperson said.
“We support the current Uefa position on the matter and will continue to engage constructively on issues relating to football governance.
“We are of course aware of the recent developments and wider concerns within the football community. We are considering these matters carefully and will continue to engage through the appropriate governance structures and channels.
“At this stage, we have no further comment.”
The wording is careful, but the message is unmistakable: Northern Ireland is not ready to break ranks entirely, yet it is no longer standing squarely behind Infantino either.
A presidency under siege
What began as a commercial gambit — the proposed sale of a stake in Fifa’s vast marketing and media rights — has spiralled into a full-blown crisis of confidence in Infantino’s leadership.
The deal may be dead, but the damage is alive and growing. With Uefa leading the charge, major confederations lining up behind its open letter, and national associations like those in Wales, England and now the Republic of Ireland formally abandoning him, Infantino’s route to another term suddenly looks anything but straightforward.
As more FAs weigh their positions, the question is no longer whether the pressure is mounting on the Fifa president.
It is how long his support can hold before the next domino falls.
