Nordic Football Associations Call for Radical Reforms at FIFA

The six Nordic football associations, members of FIFA, have announced that they have lost confidence in President Gianni Infantino and have called for far-reaching reforms to the governance of world football's governing body. The move comes amid pressure on Infantino from several regional confederations and controversy over the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.

• Joint statement in Helsinki

The federations of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands met in Helsinki and adopted a joint statement, including backing calls for Infantino's resignation by three major regional confederations. "The six Nordic football associations have lost confidence in the FIFA President and are concerned about the governance of the organisation and the decision-making process at the highest level," they said. The Nordic federations have said they stand by UEFA and support the measures it has proposed together with its national associations. "We expect FIFA to provide firm guarantees that the governance of the organisation or the competitions will never again be opened up to private ownership,” the joint statement said.

• Call for independent investigation

One of the main reasons for the dissatisfaction is the proposal to sell a stake in events such as the World Cup to private equity investors. The plan, presented as part of the FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative, was later abandoned amid negative reactions. The Nordic federations support the call by AFC, CONCACAF and UEFA for a fully independent external investigation into the circumstances surrounding this proposal.

They also call for an independent and comprehensive review of FIFA's governance framework to determine whether it guarantees the institutional independence, checks and balances, transparency and accountability promised in the 2016 reform programme.

• Pressure for leadership change

The Nordic federations' stance is adding to the pressure on Gianni Infantino, who is running for a fourth term until 2031 in next year's elections. Infantino is being challenged by UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF, and representatives of key regional bodies have even discussed a vote of no confidence against the FIFA president. The Danish Football Association (DBU) has pledged to identify a credible alternative to Infantino in view of next year's elections.

While the Nordic federations were expressing their common position in Helsinki, Infantino was in the Dominican Republic, where he met with officials from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), whom he was trying to persuade to continue supporting him.