August 14 – FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has received endorsements from six Arab federations amid anger over FIFA’s aborted plans to sell the World Cup.
On Thursday, Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan offered their “full support” for the FIFA boss. The FA presidents of Morocco, Qatar, Egypt and Mauritania – Fouzi Lekjaa, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, Hany Abo Rida and Ahmed Yahya – sit on the Fifa Council.
“We, the undersigned leaders of our respective football associations, express our full support for Mr. Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, and reaffirm our confidence in his leadership and continued commitment to the development of football worldwide,” the statement read.
“We deeply appreciate Mr. Infantino’s sustained efforts to advance football globally, expand opportunities across all regions and strengthen the game’s role in bringing people and communities together.”
The endorsements come even after Infantino in secret sought to privatise the World Cup by establishing a commercial entity to sell a minority stake in the tournament to private equity and Joshua Kushner. It prompted a major backlash, notably from UEFA, which spoke of a ‘red line’ and issued a World Cup boycott as well as of all competitions. In a recent letter, the confederation spoke of a “breach of trust”.
The endorsements however demonstrate schisms in the confederations. Led by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, the Confederation of African Football came out in support of Infantino and Morocco, Egypt, Mauritania and Sudan have towed the party line with their backing.
However, Qatar and Lebanon broke ranks from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Infantino enjoys close ties to both nations: in 2022, the Qatari hosted the first World Cup in the Middle East and Infantino has Lebanese citizenship. Furthermore, Infantino lived in the Qatari capital and Qatar still provides him with a private jet.
Regional powerbroker Saudi Arabia has to date refrained from taking a position. At the end of the month, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation will stage elections after Yaseer Al Misehal, a FIFA council member, stepped down following the Green Falcons’ disappointing World Cup campaign.
FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for other presidential candidates to come forward.
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