New Zealand Breaks Away from Oceania Bloc as FIFA President Gianni Infantino Faces Growing Re-election Backlash

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is currently facing intense scrutiny following a now-abandoned plan to sell commercial stakes in World Cups. New Zealand has emerged as the latest nation to pull its support for Gianni Infantino’s upcoming re-election bid due to the controversial proposal, while the broader Oceania confederation has cautiously maintained its backing for the governing body's leadership.

Gianni Infantino has encountered an open revolt after three major confederations—Europe’s UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, and CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean)—demanded a formal review of his leadership and strongly condemned his conduct regarding the plan to inject private investment into FIFA competitions. Despite this friction, Gianni Infantino plans to seek a fourth term in charge of the global governing body at the upcoming FIFA Congress next year, bolstered by continued support from the African and South American confederations.

New Zealand, serving as the sole Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) nation to qualify for this year’s World Cup, announced that it has withdrawn its backing for Gianni Infantino. The nation insists that the review of the stake sale proposal must be handled independently to address a severe loss of confidence and trust in FIFA’s leadership.

“We’ve called for an independent review specifically because what we don’t want to see is a sort of in-house quick washover of this,” New Zealand Football (NZF) Chief Executive Andrew Pragnell stated to the Reuters news agency, emphasizing that an independent investigation will help restore vital trust.

Meanwhile, the OFC released a statement welcoming FIFA's decision to scrap the proposal while noting that football in the Oceania region has expanded under the current FIFA leadership. The organization acknowledged the decade of progress in football development under FIFA and encouraged the governing body to use the review to implement necessary changes.

Swiss official Gianni Infantino had initially proposed carving off the commercial rights to the World Cup to sell a 20 percent stake to private investors in order to raise approximately $4.2bn. The initiative included a $20m grant for member associations during the next funding cycle, which could potentially have doubled upon signing the agreement. Following a crisis meeting in Morocco, FIFA issued an apology to its 211 member associations regarding missteps in handling the proposal, while leadership maintained full support for Gianni Infantino.

Although the opposing confederations represent 136 of the 211 member associations eligible to vote in the March FIFA presidential election, Gianni Infantino retains significant backing. Six heads of Arab national football associations, including Qatar and 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, expressed firm support, praising his ongoing efforts to advance global football. The Confederation of African Football’s executive committee also unanimously confirmed its backing, though a guaranteed bloc vote from all 54 members remains uncertain.

Andrew Pragnell stressed that an independent review into the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal must clarify decision-making and oversight at FIFA, specifically identifying those involved in the plan to involve Thrive Capital—a firm with close familial links to US President Donald Trump—in a leading role within the venture. While the scope requires careful consideration and urgent execution with agreement from all confederations, Australia has also joined the call for an independent review alongside the Asian bloc, aligning closely with New Zealand's stance.