FA demand 'review of FIFA's leadership' as pressure grows for Gianni Infantino to resign after World Cup sell-off U-turn

The Football Association (FA) have become the latest to condemn Gianni Infantino's actions, demanding a "review of FIFA's leadership".

Infantino dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons after FIFA announced plans to “invite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments” in a new subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, to oversee the commercial rights for every future tournament.

FIFA initially planned to sell minority, non-controlling shares in FFE, aiming to raise £3.1 billion, which the organisation valued at around £15 billion.

In a bold attempt to get everyone on board with the plan, Infantino even offered to incentivise those who accepted his proposal by September 19 with a £30 million payment.

Unsurprisingly, that immediately backfired with many of football's governing bodies, including UEFA, who released a furious statement accusing FIFA of using football to "enrich themselves".

Federations across the world also strongly condemned the idea, with Concacaf and AFC adopting the same stance.

At the same time, those close to Infantino were even against his outrageous plans. On Thursday (July 30), Infantino's senior advisor, Carlos Codeiro, resigned from his role after expressing his opposition over what he described as a "bad deal for the game".

Kevin Lamour, FIFA's chief operating officer, also expressed his anger towards the FIFA president, claiming he felt "deceived" after he went behind his back.

Eventually, common sense prevailed in the early hours of Saturday morning (August 1) when FIFA confirmed they would not go ahead with Infantino's proposed plans.

A huge win for the future of football, it seems, after Spain and Portugal threatened to pull out of hosting the 2030 World Cup, with several governing bodies responding to the news.

FA release statement after FIFA cancel World Cup sell-off plans

UEFA released a statement immediately after the news was confirmed, declaring a loss of confidence in Infantino and slamming his scheme as a "shabby, back-room deal."

A loss of confidence in the under-pressure FIFA president is the overwhelming feeling among many - including the FA - who replied to their statement on X with a message of their own.

"We fully support UEFA’s position," a post read. "It is time for a full and robust review of FIFA’s leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently, for the benefit of all 211 member nations and with the long-term stewardship of football at its heart."

Infantino lost the support of many for his antics during the World Cup, and his plans to sell the tournament for economic gain have only ramped up the pressure on his long-term future as president.

Naturally, when someone does a bad job and people call for their resignation, the next step is usually seeing them depart the role.

But according to former FA chairman David Bernstein, Infantino will continue as FIFA president if he retains the support of national associations.

"In a normal organisation, if he has to back down due to something of this magnitude, he'd probably be shown the door," Bernstein said via BBC Sport.

"But FIFA is not a normal organisation. If he has the support of enough of the national associations, he will continue."

The FA and UEFA have already publicly outlined their loss of confidence in Infantino, and it feels only a matter of time before others do the same.