Oceania Backs Infantino as New Zealand Breaks Ranks Amid FIFA Rift

By Staff, Agencies

The Oceania Football Confederation [OFC] has backed FIFA President Gianni Infantino, despite growing calls from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation [AFC] for his resignation, further exposing divisions within world football.

Following an executive committee meeting in Fiji, the OFC praised FIFA’s progress over the past decade and welcomed the withdrawal of its controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise [FFE] proposal, while supporting a review of the project.

However, New Zealand Football broke ranks, withdrawing its support for Infantino and calling for an independent review, citing concerns over governance, accountability and transparency and saying recent decisions had undermined trust in FIFA.

The OFC’s backing could prove significant ahead of next year’s FIFA presidential election. Although it has only 11 full members, votes from smaller football nations could become crucial as Infantino faces his first major leadership challenge in a decade.

Meanwhile, Uefa, Concacaf and AFC account for 143 of FIFA’s 211 members, although some influential countries within those confederations, including Mexico and Qatar, continue to back Infantino.

The Confederation of African Football and South America’s Conmebol have also supported him.

New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell said the federation’s decision reflected its values and the need for stronger governance and renewed confidence in FIFA, arguing that the FFE proposal should not have emerged in its current form.