Mexico’s Football Federation Backs Fifa President Infantino Amid Leadership Controversy
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has publicly supported Fifa president Gianni Infantino amid growing criticism surrounding his leadership. This support comes after the Concacaf organization, which oversees football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, called for a “comprehensive reckoning” following Infantino’s decision to cancel plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
While Concacaf has voiced disapproval, co-host Mexico for the 2026 World Cup stands firmly behind Infantino. A statement from the FMF emphasized their commitment to “continue promoting the development of football through institutional strengthening.”
This stance aligns with a statement from Conmebol, South America’s football governing body, asserting that any attempt to remove Infantino should involve a vote by all 211 Fifa members. The FMF reiterated its position, declaring that it would neither recognize nor support any process occurring outside this established framework. It echoed Infantino’s call for collective efforts to advance football for the benefit of all member associations.
Despite this backing, Conmebol expressed concern over Infantino’s unilateral actions that bypassed dialogue and the accepted institutional mechanisms for addressing such issues.
In a show of support, Argentina’s football association applauded Infantino for acknowledging and apologizing for his past “errors.” They characterized his decade as Fifa president as focused on the proliferation and institutional robustness of football worldwide.
Infantino remains backed unanimously by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) but is facing increasing opposition from UEFA and Concacaf. Following the controversy, UEFA indicated that European teams might stage a boycott of the World Cup if certain conditions remain unmet. They have lost confidence in Infantino, criticizing his recent plans as a “shabby, back-room, opaque deal.”
The English Football Association has also expressed its withdrawal of support for Infantino, joining several other associations like Wales, Albania, and Croatia in distancing themselves from the Fifa president.
Concacaf has labeled Infantino’s proposal a reflection of leadership failing to prioritize football, pointing to a troubling pattern of governance. However, they refrained from declaring a loss of confidence, unlike their counterparts in UEFA.
Before retracting his proposal, Infantino had pledged to provide all member associations with $40 million if they supported private investment in tournaments through the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) subsidiary. Following this incident, Fifa acknowledged “mistakes” related to the FFE, recognizing a need for better inclusion of its Council and member associations in decision-making processes.
In response, UEFA reiterated that their confidence in Infantino has officially eroded, and any recent endorsements from those tied to his presidency do not alter this stance. Fifa has been contacted for further comment.
The Mexican Football Federation has broken ranks with its regional governing body Concacaf to come out in support of under-fire Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
Concacaf, which runs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, called for a “comprehensive reckoning” of Infantino’s presidency after he aborted plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
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However, 2026 World Cup co-hosts Mexico have backed Infantino’s leadership amid widespread calls for him to resign.
“The FMF [Mexican FA] supports president Infantino’s leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening,” a statement read.
It echoed a statement from Conmebol – South America’s governing body – in saying it would reject any attempt to remove Infantino without a vote involving all 211 Fifa members.
“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,” it added.
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However, Conmebol did “express its concern about the repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue or the institutional mechanisms provided for dealing with this type of situation”.
Meanwhile, the football association of 2026 World Cup runners-up Argentina praised Infantino for recognising and apologising for his “errors”.
It described his decade-long tenure as Fifa president as “centred on the development of soccer worldwide and institutional strength based on a clear, stable, and transparent governance model”.
Infantino is unanimously backed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), but faces opposition from European football’s governing Uefa and Concacaf.
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European teams could still boycott the World Cup as Uefa said its conditions had not been met, despite Infantino’s plan being aborted.
“Assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again,” a Uefa statement read.
“These conditions have not been met.”
Uefa has already said it has lost confidence in Infantino, calling the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal a “shabby, back room, opaque deal”.
The English FA has sent a letter withdrawing its support for Infantino, while Wales, Albania and Croatia are among other individual associations to have turned their back on the 56-year-old.
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Concacaf described Infantino’s proposal as “a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first”, and that “this recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour”.
However, unlike Uefa, it did not go as far as to say it had lost confidence in the Fifa president.
Before Infantino withdrew his proposal, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it stood “in solidarity” with Uefa and Concacaf in opposition to the plans.
Infantino had offered all associations $40m (£30m) if they backed a proposal for private investment in its tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, through the FFE subsidiary.
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During a meeting of Fifa executives in Morocco on Wednesday, the world governing body said “mistakes” regarding FFE were “acknowledged”, saying it was “not the intention” for the Fifa Council and members association to “feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently”.
Uefa’s statement in response added: “Uefa made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds.
“Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the Fifa president (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing.”
Fifa has been approached for comment.
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