New Zealand Football has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino's bid for a fourth term as FIFA president, calling for an independent review of his aborted plan to sell 20 percent of World Cup commercial rights to private investors. Chief executive Andrew Pragnell said an external review was needed to avoid an in-house assessment of the proposal, which would have raised approximately $4.2 billion and included grants for member associations.
The withdrawal deepens a growing split within global football ahead of the FIFA Congress election in March 2027. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf have published a joint open letter calling for new leadership, while the Confederation of African Football and Conmebol have publicly backed the incumbent. FIFA has apologised to its 211 member associations for mistakes in handling the proposal.
New Zealand, the only Oceania nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, broke with the Oceania Football Confederation, which cautiously supported FIFA's leadership while welcoming the cancellation of the rights sale. Australia has also called for an independent review without stating a position on Infantino.