MEXICO AND ARGENTINA BACK INFANTINO AS FOOTBALL RIFT WIDENS

The Mexican Football Federation and Argentine Football Association have publicly endorsed Fifa president Gianni Infantino, diverging from their regional governing bodies amid a wider dispute over his leadership. Mexico's federation stated it "supports president Infantino's leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening" and will not recognise any process to remove him outside Fifa's institutional framework. Argentina's association acknowledged that Infantino's now-shelved proposal to sell World Cup commercial rights "generated far more uncertainties than certainties and that errors had been made", but expressed backing for his overall tenure as "centred on the development of football worldwide and institutional strength based on a clear, stable, and transparent governance model".

The split reflects a broader geographical divide in Fifa's membership. The Confederation of African Football has unanimously endorsed Infantino, whilst South America's Conmebol, whilst rejecting any attempt to remove him without a vote involving all 211 Fifa members, expressed concern about "repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue". Concacaf, which oversees North and Central American football, called for a "comprehensive reckoning" of his presidency. Asia's confederation declared it "stood in solidarity" with Uefa and Concacaf in their opposition to Infantino's leadership.

European football's governing body Uefa has maintained that its conditions for supporting Infantino have not been met and stated it remains committed to boycotting the World Cup and other Fifa competitions until he is removed. Infantino's re-election is scheduled for March. Several national associations have withdrawn their support for the Fifa president since the World Cup commercial rights proposal emerged.