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Dutch soccer federation withdraws support for Gianni Infantino, calls for global FIFA summit
The Dutch football federation has declared it no longer has confidence in the FIFA president, citing concerns over concentrated power.
The short version
- The Dutch football federation has officially withdrawn its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino ahead of the March 2027 presidential election.
- The federation has proposed hosting an international summit to reshape FIFA, emphasizing that structural reform is needed rather than just a change in leadership.
- This move aligns the Netherlands with UEFA and other European federations opposing Infantino following a contentious, now-withdrawn World Cup sell-off plan.
Key facts
- The Dutch football federation stated it "no longer has confidence" in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and called for a "new FIFA" with changed governance.[Associated Press]
- The federation offered to host an international summit to discuss the organization's future direction with FIFA's 211 member associations and confederations.[Associated Press]
- The Dutch federation outlined its position in a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.[Associated Press]
- Concerns raised by the Dutch federation include an excessive concentration of power around the FIFA president and an insufficient separation between the president and the administration.[Associated Press]
- A turning point for the federation was the now-withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which was a World Cup sell-off plan that caused a deep rift in the sport.[Associated Press]
What remains uncertain
- It is unclear how other non-European FIFA member associations will respond to the Dutch proposal for a global summit, or whether a viable alternative candidate will emerge to challenge Infantino for the March 2027 election.[Associated Press]