New Zealand breaks ranks with OFC
New Zealand Football (NZF) has publicly withdrawn its support for Fifa president Gianni Infantino, diverging from the broader stance of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). This decision makes New Zealand the latest national association to express a lack of confidence in Infantino‘s leadership ahead of the Fifa Congress in March, where he seeks a fourth presidential term. The NZF’s move follows a period of significant controversy surrounding Infantino and Fifa‘s governance.
The NZF stated that decisions and actions within Fifa have contributed to a breakdown of trust and increased division within international football. Consequently, New Zealand Football is advocating for an independent review of the steps taken to develop the Fifa Forward Enterprise Scheme (FFE). The organisation believes such a review is necessary to restore confidence and trust in the administration of the global game.
This stance aligns New Zealand with several other individual member nations, including England, Wales, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, all of whom have confirmed they will not support Infantino‘s re-election bid. These nations are part of a growing number of football bodies expressing concerns over Fifa‘s direction.
Controversy surrounding FFE proposal
The withdrawal of support for Infantino by various confederations and national associations largely stems from his aborted plans to sell a portion of the World Cup‘s commercial rights to private investors. The FFE proposal, unveiled on 28 July, aimed to create a subsidiary to manage all commercial rights of Fifa competitions, with a 20 per cent stake potentially worth more than $4 billion to be sold to private investors. This plan met with considerable opposition from several key football bodies.
Europe‘s Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Concacaf (North and Central America and the Caribbean) had previously withdrawn their support for Infantino over these plans. Uefa issued a statement rejecting the proposal, asserting that the World Cup should not be treated as an investment product and should not be surrendered to private investors. Many member associations also protested what they saw as structural bribery within the proposal, which included an additional $20 million sweetener for those who accepted the plan before 19 September.
The controversy led to significant internal dissent within Fifa. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to the Fifa president, resigned, stating his unequivocal opposition to the proposal, calling it a bad deal for Fifa‘s member associations and the long-term future of the game. Fifa‘s secretary-general, Mattias Grafström, described the FFE plans as a ‘sad and reproachable series of events’, while Fifa‘s chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, indicated that FFE was ‘the project of one person’.
The global condemnation culminated on 1 August when Uefa unanimously voted to boycott all Fifa competitions unless FFE was ‘abandoned in its entirety’. With Concacaf and the AFC also rejecting the scheme, Infantino subsequently withdrew the proposal. However, the withdrawal did not fully restore trust, as Uefa, Concacaf, and the AFC later issued a joint open letter accusing Infantino of ‘trust broken through deception’.
Calls for stronger governance and transparency
New Zealand Football‘s chief executive, Andrew Pragnell, emphasised the importance of an independent review, stating that the organisation does not want an ‘in-house quick washover’. He noted that other confederations have also called for an independent review to help restore trust. The NZF believes this moment offers an opportunity for all Fifa member associations to advocate for stronger governance, accountability, and transparency, which are considered fundamental to maintaining confidence in the administration of global football.
In contrast to New Zealand‘s stance, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) welcomed Fifa‘s decision to withdraw the FFE proposal and its commitment to review the issues surrounding the project. However, the OFC did not explicitly declare or withdraw its support for Infantino. The confederation acknowledged the progress in football development in Oceania under Fifa‘s leadership over the last decade and encouraged Fifa to use the review as an opportunity to identify and implement any necessary changes.
Despite the widespread opposition to the FFE proposal, Infantino still retains support from some regions. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) and the South American governing body Conmebol have backed the 56-year-old to win a fourth presidential term at the upcoming Fifa Congress in March.
New Zealand was the only one of the OFC‘s 11 members to qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Source: bbc.co.uk
