Wales has made history as the first football association anywhere to officially pull its support for Gianni Infantino’s bid to be re-elected as FIFA president.

The move comes amid a growing crisis of confidence in Infantino’s leadership, triggered by his botched attempt to sell off stakes in the World Cup.

In a statement to Sky News, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) confirmed it “hereby confirms its withdrawal of support for the candidature of Mr Gianni Infantino, for re-election as FIFA President for the 2027-2031 term”.

The governing body did not hold back in explaining its reasoning.

“The recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement have led us to a position where Mr Infantino has lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football,” the FAW stated.

“Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept.”

The FAW has now written formally to FIFA to set out its position on the future of its president.

It marks a stunning fall from grace for Infantino, coming just two weeks after he was on stage in New Jersey presenting Spain with the World Cup trophy.

Wales’s intervention appears to be part of a wider, co-ordinated push from European football to force Infantino out after a decade in charge, with governing bodies across the continent vowing to hold those responsible for the World Cup stake-sale plan to account.

Insiders expect several other national associations to follow Wales’s lead in the coming days, ramping up pressure on Infantino to step aside voluntarily rather than face a formal vote of no confidence.

The English FA have reportedly also withdrawn support for the incumbent FIFA president on Monday morning.

Infantino had been expected to stand for re-election next year, but his position now looks increasingly untenable.

UEFA has already gone on the attack, condemning what it called “secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game.”

The European body says it is drawing up plans “to make sure that it cannot occur again,” with no option ruled out.

Wales holds one of the eight seats on the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body responsible for football’s laws of the game, and which hosted Infantino at its annual meeting back in February.

Uefa and Concacaf – which oversees football in North, Central America and the Caribbean – both released statements on Saturday criticising the leadership of the world governing body following Infantino’s decision to withdraw the plan.

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