A lifeline from the Arab world! Infantino gets powerful backing amid the revolt
Gianni Infantino, besieged from Europe and both Americas, has received another significant vote of confidence. This time, the entire Arab football family has spoken in his favor.
Details: The Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) has officially reiterated its support for the FIFA president for the period ahead, praising his decade of work uniting the global football community. UAFA unites 22 member associations, is headquartered in Riyadh and has been led since September 2025 by Saudi sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal.
The statement lands at the most delicate moment of Infantino's presidency. The crisis erupted in the summer, when his FIFA Forward Enterprise project, which would have allowed private investors to acquire up to 20% of a new commercial entity holding World Cup rights, collapsed within weeks under the joint pressure of UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC. Europe did not stop there: England, Wales, Ireland, Croatia, Albania and Greece all formally withdrew their support for his re-election, UEFA kept the threat of a boycott of FIFA competitions on the table, and together with CONCACAF demanded that $2.11 billion from FIFA's reserves be distributed to the 211 member associations. Just this week, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin compared Infantino to Andersen's naked emperor in a speech in Copenhagen. Against that backdrop, the Arab bloc has become one of Infantino's last reliable pillars: back in August, six Arab federations, including 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco and Qatar, signed a joint letter of support, and now UAFA as an institution has doubled down. With the FIFA election set for March 2027 in Morocco and the deadline for challengers expiring on November 18, every such endorsement counts.
It's worth noting that Infantino has been FIFA president since February 2016 and was re-elected unopposed for his current term. Not a single rival candidate has officially entered the race for the March 2027 vote so far.
Reminder: It has begun! Čeferin attacks Infantino
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
