The South American Football Confederation, Conmebol, said on Thursday it will not support any action or procedure that departs from institutional mechanisms in the election of FIFA's president in March, a tacit endorsement of Gianni Infantino amid a crisis triggered by his proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup.
Conmebol had backed Infantino's re-election for the 2027 to 2031 term at a council meeting in April, well before the FIFA president was forced to retract, last week, a plan to create a subsidiary to run the World Cup and some of its events through outside investor participation.
FIFA Withdraws Disputed Proposal
FIFA acknowledged errors in managing the project, which was rejected by several confederations, and tried to calm tensions during a meeting in Morocco. The crisis has cast doubt on Infantino's leadership ahead of the March election, in which he will seek a fourth term through 2031.
Conmebol welcomed FIFA's decision to withdraw the proposal in a statement, expressing concern over what it called repeated unilateral actions taken without recourse to dialogue or the institutional mechanisms set out for handling such situations.
Conmebol added that it would not support any action or procedure that disregards or departs from those institutional mechanisms in choosing the person responsible for leading the organization during the next term, including organizing FIFA's Centennial World Cup in 2030.
2030 World Cup and the 64-Team Push
The 2030 World Cup will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay secured Infantino's support to each host one match, marking the centenary of the first tournament, played in Montevideo.
Conmebol is also pushing an initiative for the next World Cup to exceptionally include 64 national teams.
Conmebol's council called for institutional responsibility, stronger dialogue and full respect for governance mechanisms, adding that, above any differences, football comes first.
