Six Arab Football Associations Back Infantino as Three Confederations Move Against Him

Six Arab football associations issued a joint written statement on Thursday declaring full support and confidence in Gianni Infantino, saying they deeply appreciate his sustained efforts to advance football globally. The signatories are Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan, and six of the names on it sit on the FIFA Council: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Hany Abo Rida, Fouzi Lekjaa, Ahmed Yahya, Hashem Haidar and Moatasem Gafar.

They are answering a campaign that has grown well beyond one region. UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation have all called for Infantino to go, as have the football associations of Ireland, England and Wales. The trigger is a failed plan to bring 20 billion dollars of private equity money into the World Cup. UEFA called it a fundamental breach of trust and a deception.

The timetable makes the arithmetic urgent. Infantino has led FIFA since 2016 and is due to stand for re election in March 2027 in Morocco, with the deadline for challengers falling on 18 November this year. Between now and then, what matters is not the volume of the criticism but the count of national associations, and each of them holds one vote.

That is why a statement from six associations is worth more than its length suggests. Confederations issue demands. Associations cast ballots, and a president facing three continental bodies needs blocs that will not move. This one has just told him it will not.