Gianni Infantino remains at the center of one of the biggest political battles in modern soccer, with the FIFA president seeing the global support map shift ahead of the 2027 FIFA presidential election. As the debate over his leadership intensifies, Argentina and Mexico have now made their position clear, adding another twist to a crisis that has already divided confederations and national associations across the world.
The fallout follows FIFA‘s abandoned proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other competitions through a new subsidiary. While Europe continues to challenge Infantino’s leadership, several influential soccer associations have decided to move in a different direction, leaving the international soccer community more divided than at any point in recent years.
The controversy began after FIFA withdrew its proposal to sell up to a 20% stake in its commercial rights business, a plan that reportedly sought around $4.2 billion from private investors. FIFA later admitted mistakes had been made in how the proposal was presented and apologized to its 211 member associations, promising to review its internal processes.
Despite that apology, the backlash has continued to grow. European soccer governing body UEFA continues to insist that confidence in Infantino has been lost and has kept alive the possibility of boycotting FIFA competitions unless meaningful governance reforms are introduced.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino holds the FIFA World Cup trophy.
Croatia, England, Wales, Finland, Sweden, Serbia, and Albania have already withdrawn support for Infantino’s re-election campaign, while world players’ union FIFPRO has also criticized FIFA’s leadership.
Argentina speaks out on Infantino
While Europe continues its opposition, Argentina and Mexico have officially thrown their support behind Infantino, strengthening the FIFA president’s position before next year’s election in Morocco.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) praised Infantino’s decade in charge, highlighting what it described as global soccer development and stronger institutional governance. Although the AFA acknowledged that the commercial rights proposal had created uncertainty, it argued that FIFA’s willingness to admit mistakes demonstrated accountability.
“On behalf of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and its Executive Committee… we express our support for the work carried out over the last 10 years, which has centred on the development of football worldwide and institutional strength based on a clear, stable and transparent governance model,” AFA president Claudio Tapia wrote.
Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Winner’s Trophy
The federation also welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon the proposal: “We must acknowledge the Administration’s decision to withdraw a proposal which, from the outset, generated far more uncertainty than certainty within the football family.” Argentina concluded that the best path forward is to continue working under Infantino’s leadership ahead of the 2027 FIFA Congress.
Mexico breaks away from CONCACAF’s position
Mexico’s decision has attracted particular attention because it differs from the stance adopted by CONCACAF, the regional governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean. Earlier, CONCACAF had demanded what it called a “comprehensive reckoning” of Infantino’s presidency after criticizing the handling of the investment proposal. The Mexican Football Federation (FMF), however, decided to support the FIFA president instead.
“The FMF will neither recognise nor approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework, and it joins the call made … by President Infantino to collectively continue developing football for the benefit of the 211 member associations,” the federation said.
Raul Jimenez #9 of Mexico celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal.
It added: “The FMF supports President Infantino’s leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening.” That decision places Mexico alongside Argentina, Paraguay and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which has already offered unanimous backing to Infantino.
