The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has confirmed it will release a statement regarding FIFA’s Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal at around 1am BST tomorrow, GB News can confirm.
The OFC is understood to have met in Fiji to discuss FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s failed FFE plan.
The OFC is expected to address the plan and Infantino’s position after several other governing bodies are understood to have called for him to resign.
The meeting is understood to have taken place with its 11 member associations.
These include New Zealand, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
The FFE proposals from the under-pressure Infantino would have seen the creation of a new commercial company that would control the rights to the governing body’s major tournaments.
The plans were met with huge backlash from the footballing world and beyond, with several federations holding discussions on how to respond to the proposals.
UEFA, Europe’s governing body, has been the most outspoken against Infantino, previously saying it will boycott FIFA tournaments if it went ahead with its plans.
The OFC is set to give an announcement regarding FIFA’s proposals imminently
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The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, which oversees North America, have also voiced opposition.
CONMEBOL, which looks after South American sides, released a statement saying they would not back a vote to oust the FIFA President.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has separately given its backing to Infantino.
FIFA have taken aim at the “concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” the FIFA President, after he “sincerely apologised for errors” made with the proposed FFE.
Gianni Infantino has come under major pressure after his failed FFE plan
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Part of FIFA’s lengthy statement, which came in response to a story by The Telegraph about an alleged lover of Infantino being paid off by UEFA, read: “Echoing the recent statements of CONMEBOL and CAF, as well as discussions with FIFA Member Associations and Confederations from around the world, FIFA will not support, facilitate or tolerate any process concerning the election of the FIFA President that is inconsistent with FIFA’s Statutes, democratic procedures and established governance framework.
“The FIFA President was democratically elected by FIFA’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate.
“It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President.
“Those who do not have the support of FIFA’s Member Associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA’s established democratic processes.”
Infantino has served as the FIFA President since 2016
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Infantino has remained FIFA President since being elected in 2016, and has been re-elected in both 2019 and 2023.
He is set to stand again in March 2027 unless he is ousted as President.
Infantino will need 106 votes to stay on as FIFA President, a total he could achieve given the support from CAF and CONMEBOL.
The way that the OFC goes could be significant for Infantino if the voting goes down to the wire.
