The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has officially broken with its regional confederation to support FIFA President Gianni Infantino, even as calls for a leadership overhaul intensify. While CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, has demanded a comprehensive reckoning regarding the presidency, the FMF stated it would not recognize any process conducted outside of FIFA's established institutional framework. The Mexican federation emphasized its commitment to the 211 member associations, stating it supports Infantino’s leadership in strengthening the institution and developing the sport.
Argentina’s football association (AFA) has also declared its support for the Swiss administrator, including on Thursday from 2022 world champions Argentina. In a letter to Infantino, the AFA praised the development of global soccer and the organization's transparent governance model over the last 10 years. While acknowledging that recent proposals regarding the commercial future of the World Cup caused uncertainty and involved errors, the AFA argued that the best path forward is to continue working under the current leadership ahead of the FIFA Congress in March.
The support from Mexico and Argentina comes at a challenging time for Infantino, whose reelection bid for a fourth term—previously considered a certainty—is now clouded by controversy. Following a meeting in Rabat, FIFA apologized for mistakes related to a proposal to sell a portion of the World Cup's commercial future and pledged to review its internal processes. However, the fallout has drawn sharp criticism from various sectors. The players' union FIFPRO characterized the proposal as a profound abuse of presidential power, while the Croatian Football Federation, which noted its decision followed a thorough reassessment in light of recent developments surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026, joined England and Albania in withdrawing support for the President.
Regional stances remain divided. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unanimously backed Infantino, whereas UEFA remains committed to boycotting FIFA competitions. Asia’s confederation has aligned itself with the positions held by UEFA and CONCACAF. Meanwhile, South America’s CONMEBOL has rejected any effort to remove Infantino that does not involve a full vote of all 211 members, while simultaneously expressing concern over what it described as repeated unilateral actions taken without proper dialogue.
Mexico's federation echoed those sentiments.
CONMEBOL's earlier statement expressed concerns over the "repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue," stressing the importance of institutional reforms FIFA introduced more than a decade ago to promote transparency.
