Welsh FA Chief Demands Infantino Step Down
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- Noel Mooney, Football Association of Wales chief executive, publicly called for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to step down, citing "harm that's been done to football" from the attempted sell-off of stakes in World Cup commercial and ticketing rights.
- Wales became the first home nation to withdraw backing for Infantino's continued leadership of FIFA and was among the first nations in the world to publicly speak out against him, with numerous federations later following suit.
- The disputed plan would have created a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all FIFA competitions, with 21% sold to a private investment company — a proposal Mooney likened to selling off "the crown jewels."
- Mooney, who previously worked alongside Infantino at UEFA, acknowledged Infantino's past achievements, including Arsene Wenger's technical development work at FIFA, but said the sell-off episode crossed a line demanding departure.
- Mooney called for a full review of FIFA's "governance, the processes, the structures," arguing that "too much power sits with one person — the president," and that any review cannot be led by Infantino himself.
- Mooney said trust is "broken with many football associations around the world" and expressed sympathy for "brilliant council members and staff members" at FIFA caught in the fallout from the controversy.
Why it matters: Mooney's intervention carries weight because Wales was the first home nation to break with Infantino, and his demand for a governance review that cannot be led by the FIFA president creates a concrete political precondition that complicates any effort to preserve Infantino's position. His sympathy for FIFA staff and acknowledgment of Infantino's past UEFA work frame the call as institutional reform rather than a personal vendetta, giving other federations a template for joining the push.
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