New Zealand has formally broken with Oceania’s football governing body to withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, marking a significant shift in the nation’s relationship with the governing body. This action follows a series of regional confederations – Europe’s UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the Concacaf (North and Central America and the Caribbean) – independently withdrawing support for Infantino’s plans to sell 20% of the World Cup’s commercial rights. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) and South American governing body Conmebol have subsequently backed the 56-year-old to win a fourth presidential term at the Fifa Congress in March. This withdrawal is the latest development following several individual member nations, including England, Wales, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, confirming their intention to not support Infantino’s re-election bid. The New Zealand Football Confederation (NZF) has formed a formal request for an independent review of the steps undertaken to develop the Fifa Forward Enterprise Scheme (FFE), a project deemed insufficient by the NZF to foster confidence and trust within the international football landscape. A statement released by the NZF indicates that after careful consideration, the organization has concluded that decisions and actions within FIFA have contributed to a breakdown in trust and increased division amongst Fifa member associations. The NZF believes this represents an opportunity for all Fifa member associations to advocate for stronger governance, accountability, and transparency, fundamental to maintaining confidence within the administration of the global game. New Zealand’s status as the only nation in the OFC’s 11 members to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup underscores its strategic importance within the confederation. The NZF chief executive, Andrew Pragnell, stated that the organization is seeking an independent review specifically because what they don’t want to see is a sort of in-house quick washover of this. An independent review is something else that has been called for by other confederations, intended to restore some of the trust.” ,
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Source: Adom Sports
