Swiss Football Association withdraws support for Gianni Infantino’s FIFA re-election bid

The Swiss Football Association has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president, it announced on Wednesday, 30 September. Its central committee made the decision at a 25 September meeting, reversing an endorsement given in June. The change adds the Swiss association to a growing group of federations withdrawing support ahead of the 2027 election.

The association said a reassessment of recent developments had raised fundamental questions about FIFA’s leadership, governance, transparency and decision-making. Its decision withdraws an endorsement; it does not settle who will lead FIFA after the election.

Why the Swiss association withdrew its endorsement

In the association’s statement, quoted by Swiss broadcaster SRF, the concerns include clarity of rules and the integrity of competition in the Folarin Balogun case. It also questioned institutional involvement and accountability in FIFA Forward Enterprise. Those are the association’s stated reasons for changing its position, rather than findings in the reporting that FIFA broke a rule.

SRF reported that Balogun, a United States striker, had a World Cup red-card suspension overturned after US President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Infantino. The Swiss association framed its concern around how the rules were applied and the integrity of the competition. The sources reviewed for this report do not independently establish misconduct in that episode.

SFV president Peter Knäbel said steps announced in a FIFA letter dated 21 September were an important signal and could bring improvements, according to SRF. He said central questions about the background to decisions, responsibility and decision-making remained open. The cited reports do not set out the letter’s measures in enough detail to assess whether they answer those questions.

The association said those questions had not been convincingly clarified and that it could no longer justify supporting Infantino’s candidacy, according to Reuters. Its position is a political decision by a FIFA member association about whom to endorse. The available reporting does not establish how the Swiss association will vote or what effect the withdrawal will have on the election result.

What changes in the FIFA presidential campaign

Infantino announced at FIFA’s 76th Congress that he would stand for re-election in 2027. In FIFA’s account of his speech, he thanked its 211 member associations for their support over the preceding decade. He has been president since 2016. The Swiss withdrawal therefore concerns a declared candidacy, rather than a hypothetical future bid.

The Swiss move follows withdrawals of endorsement by other associations, including England, Wales, France and Serbia, according to Reuters. France’s earlier decision is covered in NewsJaws’ report on the French federation’s withdrawal of support. The Swiss decision is a further change since that report: Infantino has now lost the backing of the association in his country of birth.

France’s president, Philippe Diallo, told Le Monde earlier in September that the proposed private-investment company had changed his federation’s view of FIFA governance. He said France learned of the plan through the press. His account gives context for the wider loss of European support, although each federation made its own decision and stated its own reasons.

SRF reported on 30 September that the election was expected at FIFA’s 77th Congress in Rabat in March 2027 and that no challenger had yet been identified. Reuters reported that UEFA had pledged to present a rival candidate before a November deadline. A pledge to put forward a candidate does not mean one has already been nominated, and the cited reports do not establish how the contest will develop.

For now, the definite change is the loss of the Swiss association’s endorsement. The reasons it gave centre on unanswered governance and accountability questions. Whether FIFA’s announced measures address those concerns, whether a rival enters the race, and how member associations eventually vote remain open.