Infantino gains backing from allies as UEFA maintains hard-line stance

Football looked to be heading for a long standoff on Friday with FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s allies coming out in support of him and UEFA standing firm in their threat to boycott all events organized by the global governing body.
Confederations and national associations continued to choose sides a week after Infantino abandoned his proposal to raise some $4.2 billion by selling off a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments.
Mexico and Argentina’s football associations were the latest to throw their weight behind the embattled world soccer chief, following on from the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) unanimous backing of Infantino’s leadership on Thursday.
South America’s CONMEBOL, meanwhile, expressed concerns over the “repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue.”
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF), co-hosts of the recently concluded World Cup, broke ranks with its own regional confederation by supporting Infantino after CONCACAF had earlier called for a “comprehensive reckoning” with his presidency.
CONCACAF, which ‌runs football in ‌North and Central America as well as the Caribbean, has been among the key ‌critics ⁠of FIFA alongside ⁠UEFA, which on Thursday said that its key conditions for a return to FIFA competitions had not been met.
European soccer’s governing body said it remained committed to boycotting the World Cup until it received assurances that “such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.”
UEFA has not yet said whether its teams would skip FIFA’s next event — the women’s under-20 World Cup in Poland next month.
Asia’s confederation (AFC) said it “stood in solidarity” with UEFA and CONCACAF, although a few of