Israel pulls support for embattled FIFA chief after World Cup sell-off plan — report

Board of Israel’s soccer governing body said to have voted unanimously to retract earlier endorsement of Gianni Infantino’s reelection bid

Israel on Tuesday became the latest country to withdraw support for the reelection of FIFA President Gianni Infantino after his controversial bid to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, the Guardian reported.

A host of European federations have already scrapped their backing of Infantino, even as the world soccer chief hopes to survive the controversy as he bids for reelection at next year’s FIFA Congress.

Infantino, 56, had further inflamed critics on Monday by firing Kevin Lamour, the chief operating officer of the global soccer governing body, after Lamour publicly assailed Infantino’s now-abandoned plan.

The FIFA president, who expected earlier this year to easily win a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in March 2027, was already hemorrhaging support because of the plan from his erstwhile supporters, including UEFA, the union of European soccer associations, which Israel joined in 1994.

Infantino announced on August 1 that he was scrapping the plan, but UEFA announced later that day that it had lost confidence in him.

Infantino remains under extreme pressure, with three confederations accusing him of “deception” over his private investor World Cup plan in an open letter published last week.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino waves on arrival at the swearing-in of new Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, on August 7, 2026. (Handout/Colombian Presidency/AFP)

Israel Football Association chief Moshe Zuares, who is also a member of UEFA’s executive committee, told Israel’s Sports Channel in an August 6 interview that the IFA supports UEFA’s decision.

In a letter Tuesday, Zuares formalized Israel’s withdrawal of support for Infantino, the Guardian said.

Israel Football Association chairman Moshe Zuares in Jerusalem on May 24, 2023. (Yonatan SIndel/Flash90)

The Guardian quoted Zuares as saying in the letter that amid the “unprecedented crisis of confidence” between UEFA and FIFA, the IFA board voted unanimously to withdraw support from Infantino.

“We have no choice but to retract our previous letter of support, in the sincere hope that fruitful dialogue among all parties will eventually restore a shared, proper vision and direction for world football,” Zuares said, according to the Guardian.