By Adegboyega Adeleye
The Swiss Football Association (SFV) has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president, dealing a significant blow to the incumbent ahead of the election.
The development is particularly notable because the SFV is Infantino’s national federation and FIFA is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The Swiss association had endorsed Infantino’s candidacy in June but reversed that position at an executive committee meeting on September 25.
According to Reuters, the SFV said its decision followed a “comprehensive reassessment of developments over the past few months”.
“From the SFV’s perspective, various incidents raise fundamental questions regarding leadership, governance, transparency and decision-making processes within FIFA,” the association said in a statement.
The withdrawal comes amid growing tensions within world football over Infantino’s leadership and FIFA’s governance.
Infantino’s proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would have involved private investment in FIFA’s commercial operations, was abandoned in July after opposition from several football stakeholders. FIFA said the project had created divisions that were no longer in the organisation’s interest.
UEFA, along with several other football bodies, has also called for reforms to FIFA’s governance, including greater involvement of stakeholders in decision-making.
The latest development means Infantino no longer has the backing of the Swiss federation that had initially endorsed his campaign.
The FIFA presidential election is scheduled for March 2027, with Infantino seeking another term as president.
The post Infantino suffers fresh blow as Swiss FA withdraws support appeared first on Vanguard News.