New Zealand break with OFC to withdraw Infantino support

New Zealand has decided to break ties with Oceania’s football governing body, Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino. This move is part of a broader trend where several nations have distanced themselves from Infantino over his failed attempt to sell 20% of the World Cup’s commercial rights to private investors.

Infantino has lost backing from three regional confederations: UEFA (Europe), AFC (Asia), and CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean). While the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and South American governing body CONMEBOL remain Infantino supporters, New Zealand has become the latest nation to join those who will not back his re-election bid at the FIFA Congress in March.

New Zealand Football has also called for an independent review of the FIFA Forward Enterprise Scheme (FFE) decisions and actions, as they believe the actions within FIFA have created a breakdown in trust and division within international football. This comes as several individual member nations, such as England, Wales, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, have also decided not to support Infantino’s re-election bid.