Among them Egypt and Morocco: Infantino secures the backing of six Arab federations | Goal.com

Published on 13 Aug 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Six Arab football federations have renewed their support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a move that comes amid an escalating crisis within world football's governing body. A private investment project has sparked wide-ranging objections, with three continents criticising the way the Swiss president runs affairs and calling for his departure.

The heads of the Qatar, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Mauritania federations announced their full backing on Thursday. Infantino is preparing to contest the FIFA presidential election scheduled for next March, and the six affirmed their confidence in his leadership and his commitment to developing football at the global level.

Arab football plays an important role in bringing peoples together and strengthening cooperation between federations in the region, the six said in a joint statement published by Reuters. They affirmed "their full support for Infantino, and the renewal of their confidence in his leadership and his continued commitment to developing football around the world".

Four of the six signatories also sit on the FIFA Council: Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Hani Abo Rida, Fouzi Lekjaa and Ahmed Yahya. That adds to the significance of the move.

The heads of the federations added: "We greatly appreciate Infantino's continuous efforts to develop football globally, to expand opportunities for all regions, and to strengthen the role of the game in bringing peoples and communities together".

They aspire to keep cooperating with the FIFA president to build a "stronger and more prosperous future for world football", expanding opportunities and strengthening the contribution of Arab football to the international scene.

This support arrives as Infantino faces one of the biggest crises of his presidency. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF have all publicly objected to an investment project that aimed to restructure the commercial rights of some FIFA competitions.

Infantino had proposed separating the commercial rights of the World Cup and selling a 20% stake to private-sector investors. The move would have provided around $4.2 billion, but he backed down after a wide wave of criticism.

Some Asian federations expressed their disappointment when the project was revealed, their position appearing close to UEFA's objections to the way the initiative was put forward.

Crucially, the positions of national federations may not necessarily match those of their continental bodies, and each national federation holds one vote in the elections. That is where the new Arab support matters.

Infantino will need 106 votes for a simple majority if he faces only one rival. Should there be three or more candidates, he will have to secure a two-thirds majority in the first round, that is 141 votes, to win.

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