Mexico turns on USA and Canada by BACKING Gianni Infantino as defiant FIFA chief refuses to quit over World Cup scheme

The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has caused shockwaves by choosing to back embattled FIFA president Gianni Infantino and go directly against the USA, Canada and other Concacaf members.

Concacaf - the body that governs the sport in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean - joined the global revolt against Infantino last week and issued a damning statement against him. 

Infantino has faced a major backlash since his plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup emerged last month. Amid widespread outrage and opposition, those plans were dumped. 

But, on Thursday night, the FMF chose to go against Concacaf's position and released a statement throwing its weight behind Infantino. 

It read: 'The Mexican Football Federation is convinced that football is its fundamental value and that its best defense lies in institutional integrity and respect for the governance and processes that safeguard it.

'Therefore, the FMF will not recognize or approve any process convened outside of this institutional framework, and it embraces the call issued by President Infantino on August 5, 2026, to collectively continue developing football for the benefit of its 211 member associations.

'The FMF supports President Infantino's leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening.'

Not long after Mexico released its statement, the Argentinian federation did the same and said it wanted to 'express our support for the management carried out during the last 10 years'.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has also reaffirmed its support for the president in recent days.

But Mexico's position comes in contrast to what Concacaf said in a statement published on social media on July 30. It read: 'Concacaf was only made aware of this matter through media reports and, subsequently, via a media release.

'We are deeply concerned by the lack of due process. We share the disappointment of many within our region and the game that this level of detail has been designed and shared publicly before any discussion with the relevant governance bodies and stakeholders has taken place.

'As leaders within football, we are the custodians of the game. Collectively, FIFA, the Confederations and every Member Association have a responsibility to always act in the best interests of the sport.

'Every decision we make must be guided by good governance, robust processes and long-term stewardship. This is the framework within which Concacaf operates. We trust that all within the FIFA family will act in the same manner.'

But while Concacaf is clearly fractured, Daily Mail Sports understands UEFA is set to continue its boycott of the World Cup until Infantino is removed from his position.

European football’s governing body issued a statement on Thursday reiterating that it had lost confidence in the FIFA president in the wake of his aborted World Cup sell-off.

UEFA previously said that Infantino’s proposal would have to be withdrawn and that it would need assurances that such ‘attempts to disfigure the game this way will never be made again’ before it lifted its self-imposed ban.

However, it is believed that – as things stand - anything less than Infantino’s head would not be enough to ensure the likes of champions Spain, England, France and Germany take part in four years’ time.

An international football insider told Daily Mail Sport: ‘This had to be done. He has to go and this is the only way to force him out.’ 

On Wednesday night, FIFA announced Infantino had the backing of members of the body’s council after crisis talks in Morocco.

The beleaguered Swiss had summoned officials to his hotel as part of what appears to be, for now, a successful attempt to cling to power.

Following the hotel summit FIFA issued a statement saying execs had given their 'full support' to Infantino while acknowledging 'mistakes' in the dropped plan. 

FIFA said they have now apologised in a letter to the various football associations and that a ‘review’ will be carried out.

Along with UEFA's continued anger, a withering statement from FIFPRO, the global union for professional footballers, hit out at Infantino and the FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme.

It read: 'FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) is gone. The abuse of power that produced it is not. Governance reforms, not a cover-up, are urgently needed.

'The withdrawal of FFE was inevitable. But withdrawing the proposal does not erase what it revealed.

'A plan capable of permanently altering the ownership and governance of the FIFA World Cup, and commercialising the competitions built by generations of players, was conceived in secrecy, negotiated behind closed doors and brought to the brink of agreement before the FIFA Council, the Member Associations, players and football’s recognised stakeholders even knew it existed.

'That is not merely a governance failure. It is a profound abuse of presidential power.'

They also ripped into FIFA's latest update from its meeting in Morocco and called for 'structural safeguards to ensure these events can never be repeated'.

This includes legally binding engagement 'with professional football's stakeholders on decisions of major consequence' and voting rights for them on the FIFA council. 

The statement concluded: 'The withdrawal of FFE prevented an irreversible decision. It did not restore the confidence that made such a proposal possible in the first place. 

'That confidence has now been fundamentally broken. It cannot be rebuilt through carefully drafted statements, internal reviews or promises to improve processes. Nor can it be restored simply by announcing governance and structural reforms that should always have existed.

'These reforms are now indispensable. But they are the responsibility of the future, not an absolution of the past.

'The players did not create this crisis. They will insist that football emerges from it with stronger institutions, stronger safeguards and leadership worthy of the trust the game demands.'