The Football Association (FA) is firmly asserting its belief that Gianni Infantino is no longer the appropriate leader for Fifa, despite the global football organization expressing its “full support” for Infantino on Wednesday night.

Sources from the FA had earlier indicated plans to send a letter to Fifa, officially withdrawing their support for Infantino’s re-election campaign at the upcoming Congress next year.

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This stance is believed to remain unchanged, even after Fifa and Infantino issued an apology to national associations over their approach to a proposal involving private investors in a company managing the World Cup and other tournaments.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has also publicly withdrawn its endorsement, along with the FAs of Serbia, Sweden, and Finland. Sources indicate that Fifa’s recent statement has only fueled the frustration among Infantino’s detractors, raising the prospect of “open warfare” within the upper echelons of global football governance.

Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, it was understood that Fifa Council members had been working to secure the necessary 19-vote majority to request a meeting with Infantino.

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This meeting would focus on holding him accountable for the private investor plan and the Folarin Balogun situation. Sources indicate that members are considering a ‘governance boycott’ of Council meetings, a move that could paralyze Fifa, if they do not achieve the required majority or if Infantino declines their request for a meeting despite sufficient support.

Fifa’s statement confirmed that Infantino had the “full support” of the management board members present at Wednesday’s session in Rabat, Morocco, emphasizing his intent to stay in control amid growing opposition.

The statement acknowledged that some “mistakes were made” in managing the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, clarifying that it was “not the intention” for the Fifa Council or member associations to feel “excluded” from the process.

While a review into the handling of the FFE proposal was pledged, the statement insisted that all actions taken were in full compliance with Fifa’s regulatory framework.

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It also warned that Fifa “will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance, and due process, taking all necessary measures to protect its name and reputation.”

Meanwhile, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, president of the Jordanian Football Association, accused Fifa of “blackmail” in a post on X on Tuesday. He alleged that Fifa had promised financial recovery assistance during the World Cup if the Jordanian Football Association supported Infantino.

Fifa is aware of this claim but has not commented on it, nor has it addressed The Guardian’s report from Wednesday that suggested Fifa played a central role in discussions to develop the European Super League in 2020, which at one point was reportedly going to be called the ‘Fifa Super League.’

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Fifa did, however, refute a claim in The Times on Wednesday stating that Infantino had promised Morocco the hosting rights for the 2030 World Cup final. The organization maintained that a decision on this matter would be made “in due course”, noting that Morocco is one of the three main co-hosts for the tournament, along with Spain and Portugal.

Uefa was among the three continental confederations that publicly rejected Infantino’s private investor plan last week, even threatening to boycott Fifa competitions, including the World Cup, if it was not withdrawn.

Despite Infantino confirming last Saturday that the plan would not go forward, Uefa released a further statement declaring it had “lost confidence” in the Swiss. Uefa has not yet responded to Fifa’s statement published on Wednesday.