New Zealand withdraws support for FIFA head Infantino

MELBOURNE- New Zealand became the latest nation to withdraw its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino's reelection bid on Friday over the aborted commercial rights stake sale plan, while Oceania's confederation cautiously backed the governing body's leadership.

Infantino has faced open revolt after three confederations — Europe's UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF (North and Central America) — called for a review of his leadership and attacked his conduct over theplan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions.

Infantino will seek reelection for a fourth term in charge of the global governing body at the FIFA Congress next year, with the African and South American confederations declaring their continued support.

New Zealand, the only Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) nation to qualify for this year's World Cup, said it had withdrawn support for Infantino and that the review of the stake sale proposal should be independent due to a loss of confidence and trust in FIFA's leadership.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 told Reuters on Friday.

"An independent review is something else that has been called for by other confederations that will help restore some of the trust."

The OFC said in a statement that it welcomed FIFA’s decision to withdraw the proposal and that football in the Oceania region had grown under the current FIFA leadership.

"OFC recognises the progress achieved over the last decade in advancing football development in Oceania under FIFA’s leadership and encourages FIFA to use the review as an opportunity to identify and implement any changes that may be necessary," it added.

INFANTINO ALLIES

Swiss Infantino had proposed carving off the commercial rights to the World Cup and selling 20% to private investors to raise about $4.2 billion before a U-turn following the furore.

The proposal came with a $20 million grant for member associations for the next funding cycle, an amount that could have been doubled if they signed the deal.

Following a crisis meeting in Morocco last week, FIFA apologised to its 211 member associations for mistakes in the handling of the proposal and said its leadership had full support for Infantino.

Despite the opposition of the three confederations, which represent 136 of the 211 member associations who will vote in the FIFA presidential election in March, Infantino still has plenty of allies in the game.

Six heads of Arab national football associations, including Qatar and 2030 World Cup co-hosts Morocco, firmly backed him on Thursday, saying they appreciated his "sustained efforts to advance football globally".

The Confederation of African Football's executive committee also unanimously confirmed its support for Infantino, though, there is no guarantee of a bloc vote from all 54 members.

Pragnell said an independent review into the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal needed to shed light on decision-making and oversight at FIFA.

It should also identify who was involved in the plan for Thrive Capital, a firm with close familial links to U.S. President Donald Trump, to play a leading role in the venture.

"I think the scope needs to be considered really carefully, but what's most important is that all confederations should agree on the scope, and it needs to get underway with urgency," Pragnell told Reuters.

AFC member Australia has also called for an independent review alongside the Asian bloc, without publicly expressing a position on Infantino's leadership.

"Based on what we've seen, including (Australia's) commitment to the AFC statement, we're strongly aligned," Pragnell said.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)