Scottish FA Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino's Re-election

The Scottish FA has walked away from Gianni Infantino.

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

That is not a soft rebuke. It is a clear break.

Speaking to BBC Sport as he unveiled Belgian coach Sebastian Pocognoli as Scotland’s new head coach, Maxwell nailed the SFA’s colours to Uefa’s mast.

“The position of the SFA has been clear since the 55 Uefa associations met,” he 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.”

Fallout from Fifa Forward Enterprise

Infantino’s grip on power has been shaken by the storm around Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposed new company that would have controlled the commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups.

Under the plan, 21% of FFE was to be sold to a private investment firm.

The idea detonated across world football. Uefa led a fierce backlash, with several confederations condemning the proposal. Talk of boycotts of Fifa competitions quickly followed.

Under that pressure, FFE was scrapped. The damage, though, has not been erased.

Last week, Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation escalated the confrontation with an open letter accusing Fifa and Infantino of breaking trust “through deception”. The document, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of all three bodies, said the row over FFE went to the heart of “the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it”.

Infantino was not named. He did not need to be. Sources have told BBC Sport the letter should be read as a direct signal that the Fifa president is being invited to step aside and leave with dignity.

Scotland sides with Europe’s heavyweights

Maxwell insisted Scotland’s stance is neither new nor half-hearted. He rejected any suggestion the SFA had stayed quiet because its president, Mike Mulraney, chairs the Fifa finance committee.

The message from Hampden is that Scotland is fully in step with Uefa, and with a growing European front that has already broken with Infantino.

The Football Associations of England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have all publicly withdrawn their support. Infantino, who intends to stand for a fourth term at the Fifa Congress in March, now faces open resistance from within some of the game’s most influential nations.

Governance, documents and a deepening rift

Under mounting scrutiny, Fifa has promised to present a report on the abandoned FFE project to the next Fifa Council meeting, expected in October.

For Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC, that is nowhere near enough.

In their letter, the three confederations argued that “proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgement” demands a review carried out by a “fully independent third party”, not an internal Fifa exercise.

They also highlighted Uefa’s legal warning: Fifa must not delete or destroy any documents linked to the FFE plan. That line underlines how far trust has eroded. This is no longer just a political argument; it has moved into the territory of legal safeguards and paper trails.

Breakaway talk and an uncertain race

The consequences could be seismic.

BBC Sport understands there have already been preliminary conversations between Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC about potential breakaway competitions if Infantino remains in office. Those discussions are described as exploratory rather than advanced, but the fact they are happening at all shows how fragile the current order has become.

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

The president plans to run again. Scotland will not be in his corner. Nor will several of its neighbours. If the world game’s leader survives this revolt, it will not be because Europe and its allies kept quiet.