The CEO of the Welsh Football Association has stated his opposition to Gianni Infantino's re-election.

2026-09-23 09:30

The CEO of the Welsh Football Association has stated his opposition to Gianni Infantino's re-election.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently sent a letter to the Council and member associations proposing an independent external review of the organization's operations in order to seek improvements.


The news sparked heated discussions about a "major overhaul" at FIFA. However, Noel Mooney, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, publicly poured cold water on the idea, stating that the claim was an exaggeration and reiterating his opposition to Gianni Infantino's re-election.


Gianni Infantino has recently faced heavy criticism for his "Forward Enterprise" (FFE) scheme, which involved plans to sell stakes in World Cup and other sporting events to private investors. Although the plan has been shelved, the controversy continues, with the Football Association of Wales being one of the first associations to withdraw its support for his leadership. With the elections scheduled for March 2027, Mooney has made it clear that Wales will not support Infantino.


In an exclusive interview with Radio Wales, Mooney bluntly pointed out the limitations of the so-called reform letter and raised serious questions about FIFA's financial and management philosophy: "I've seen a ton of headlines about major reforms, but to be honest, that's not what the original letter meant at all."


"The letter made no mention of reforms to FIFA itself, but only discussed adjustments to certain strategic projects and proposals, focusing solely on decision-making and consultation processes."


When asked about his expectations for FIFA's top leadership, Mooney made a sharp remark in an interview: "What people are looking for in the FIFA presidency is a moral guardian of the sport, not a businessman who breaks up and sells off football. The World Cup doesn't need private equity involvement at all; FIFA has billions of dollars in reserves."


"Distribute these funds to the grassroots associations so we can build more stadiums! Since you have such substantial reserves, you should deliver on your support as soon as possible. The total revenue of this North American World Cup is expected to jump from $8 billion during the Qatar World Cup to $16 billion. Since the revenue has doubled, you should provide correspondingly doubled funding support to us grassroots football associations."


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