New Zealand Withdraws Support for Infantino and Calls for FIFA Audit

Gianni Infantino’s support is no longer just eroding in Europe. It is cracking on the far side of the world.

New Zealand Football (NZF) has formally withdrawn its backing for the Swiss administrator’s candidacy ahead of the 2027 FIFA Congress, a rare and pointed rebuke from an association outside UEFA’s sphere. The move does not stand alone. It comes with a direct challenge to the way FIFA is being run.

NZF has gone a step further by calling for an independent review of the FIFA Forward Enterprise program, the governing body’s flagship development and funding scheme. An external audit of that scale would be unprecedented in the modern era for FIFA and strikes at the heart of its financial and development management.

After what it describes as an internal analysis, the New Zealand federation concludes that recent FIFA decisions have eroded trust and deepened divisions across the global game. In its view, only a fully independent investigation can begin to restore credibility to the organisation’s leadership and decision-making.

For NZF, the current tension is not just a crisis. It is an opening. The federation argues that this moment gives member associations a chance to push hard for stronger governance, greater transparency, and real accountability at the top of world football.

This is not an isolated protest from a distant corner of Oceania. New Zealand’s stance follows the public break made by Ireland and several other European federations, who have already turned away from Infantino’s leadership. What began as a largely European revolt is now spreading across continents.

The critical front against the FIFA president is starting to look global. And with elections looming in 2027, every federation that peels away raises the same question: how long can Infantino rely on his once-solid internal backing?