NORWEGIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION DEMANDS INFANTINO RESIGN AS FIFA PRESIDENT

Norway's Football Federation has called for the immediate resignation of Fifa president Gianni Infantino following the collapse of his plan to sell World Cup stakes to private investors. The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) board made the decision at a meeting on Thursday. Lise Klaveness, NFF president, told the Guardian: "We decided that there is no trust in Infantino now. The trust is now gone for us, there is no way back for Infantino." The federation intends to formally submit a letter requesting his resignation within the coming week.

Infantino's position has weakened considerably across European football governing bodies. The English Football Association and Football Association of Wales have both withdrawn their backing for his re-election scheduled for next March. Uefa reiterated its threat to boycott the World Cup and other Fifa competitions on Thursday, despite Fifa abandoning the failed Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme. Klaveness stated that Norway did not support Infantino's election in 2023 but had hoped to back him if he implemented promised reforms. "He didn't, and now we will ask him to resign," she said. The NFF is expected to lodge a complaint with Fifa's ethics committee encompassing the FFE initiative, a peace prize awarded to Donald Trump, and the suspension of Folarin Balogun's World Cup ban.

Support for Infantino persists in other regions. The Confederation of African Football voiced its backing for the Fifa president on Thursday, whilst Mexico and Argentina continue to support him. Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation previously criticised the failed privatisation proposal. Klaveness acknowledged Norway's limited individual influence but stated the federation's position firmly. "We're left in a very polarised cooperation globally and, I would say, chaos," she said.