Six Arab Football Federations Rally Behind Infantino Amid Revolt

The heads of six Arab national football associations — Qatar, Morocco, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon, and Sudan — issued a joint statement expressing "full support" for Gianni Infantino and reaffirming "confidence in his leadership and continued commitment to the development of football worldwide," as the FIFA president fought to keep his job following the abandoned World Cup stake-sale plan. Four of the six signatories — Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Egypt's Hany Abo Rida, Morocco's Fouzi Lekjaa, and Mauritania's Ahmed Yahya — are sitting FIFA Council members. The show of support came days after UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC jointly accused Infantino of "deception" and demanded an independent review, illustrating a geographic split in FIFA's 211-member federation ahead of the March 2027 presidential election.