Swiss FA Withdraws Support for Infantino's Fifa Bid

The Swiss Football Association has withdrawn its backing for Gianni Infantino's re-election bid as Fifa president, reversing a decision taken in June. The SFV confirmed the move on Wednesday after a meeting of its executive committee this week.

"The decision follows a comprehensive reassessment of developments over the past few months," the SFV said. "From the SFV's perspective, various incidents raise fundamental questions regarding leadership, governance, transparency and decision-making processes within Fifa."

Infantino was born in Brig, an Alpine town in Valais canton in southern Switzerland. Opposition to his candidacy has grown since July, when his plans to sell a stake in Fifa tournaments, including the World Cup, came to light. The backlash forced those plans to be dropped.

The Swiss federation is the latest to pull its support, following associations in England, Wales, France and Serbia, among others, ahead of the March election. Uefa has pledged to put forward a rival candidate before the November deadline.

Infantino, 56, has been Fifa president since 2016 and has faced calls to resign amid pressure for reform at the game's governing body. He wrote to member associations this month saying he was open to discussing reform, but the SFV said key questions about Fifa's responsibilities and decision-making had gone unanswered.

"As these have not been convincingly clarified, we cannot justify continuing to support Gianni Infantino's candidacy," the SFV said.

Switzerland, founded in 1895 and playing their home fixtures at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf, sit top of their World Cup qualifying group on 7 points from 3 matches. With Uefa now committed to fielding a challenger, the SFV's reversal adds to the sense that Infantino heads into March without the unified continental support he once had.