New Zealand Football (NZF) has formally withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as FIFA President ahead of the 2027 Congress.
NZF also demanded a fully independent review into the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise commercial rights proposal, citing a deep breakdown in trust and governance standards.
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The aborted FIFA Forward Enterprise plan sparked widespread backlash over selling commercial rights to private investors. NZF broke ranks with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), which stopped short of pulling its backing.
“We’ve called for an independent review specifically because what we don’t want to see is a sort of in-house quick washover of this,” New Zealand Football (NZF) Chief Executive Andrew Pragnell told Reuters on Friday.
“An independent review is something else that has been called for by other confederations that will help restore some of the trust.
“I think the scope needs to be considered really carefully, but what’s most important is that all confederations should agree on the scope, and it needs to get underway with urgency.
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“Based on what we’ve seen, including (Australia’s) commitment to the AFC statement, we’re strongly aligned,” Pragnell said.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and South American governing body CONMEBOL, however, continue to support Infantino.
Infantino is seeking reelection at the FIFA Congress in Morocco on March 17, 2027.
