Prince Ali bin al-Hussein said it plainly: FIFA has been using "blackmail" to secure votes for Gianni Infantino's re-election. That's not a fringe complaint — it's coming from the president of the Jordanian Football Association, and it's the kind of allegation that sticks.
Yet despite a rebellion that now includes UEFA threatening to pull European nations out of future World Cups entirely, a significant bloc of associations has planted its flag firmly in Infantino's corner. Seventeen of them, to be precise.
Who's backing him — and why it matters
The list of associations confirming support for Infantino reads like a geopolitical map of FIFA's traditional power base outside Europe:
- Argentina
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Indonesia
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Mauritania
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Niger
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Sri Lanka
- UAE
Not a single European association has broken with UEFA's position. That unanimity matters — it tells you this isn't just political noise from a few disgruntled federations. The entire European bloc is aligned against the man who runs world football.
On the opposition side, 14 associations have confirmed they will vote against Infantino in March's election. Jordan stands alone as the only non-European name on that list, which given Prince Ali's history with FIFA — he ran against Infantino's predecessor Sepp Blatter in 2015 — is no surprise at all.
FIFA's damage control isn't working
After an emergency meeting in Rabat, FIFA's own management board released a statement reaffirming their support for Infantino and admitting "mistakes were made." UEFA's response was withering: "Yesterday's announcement that some people employed by the FIFA President (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing."
That's a clean hit. When your defense is "my staff back me," you're already losing the argument.
The original flashpoint was Infantino's proposal to privatize 20% of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions — a plan that collapsed under the weight of opposition. Now the crisis has widened to include allegations that UEFA paid off a woman reportedly in a relationship with Infantino during his time as the body's secretary general, a claim he denies.
With the election in March and UEFA's boycott threat on the table, Infantino's hold on world football is looking shakier than any FIFA presidency in recent memory. The 17 associations backing him give him a base — but bases don't win elections when Europe walks out the door.
