SCOTTISH FA WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR FIFA PRESIDENT GIANNI INFANTINO

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The Scottish Football Association has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino and will not be voting for his re-election as president of Fifa, chief executive Ian Maxwell has told BBC Sport.

Infantino is under increasing pressure over his attempt, later abandoned, to create a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights of all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups, with 21% to be sold off to a private investment company.

Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) was aborted after widespread criticism from several confederations, led by Uefa, which has threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions.

"The position of the SFA has been clear since the 55 Uefa associations met," said Maxwell, speaking as he announced Belgian Sebastian Pocognoli as the new Scotland head coach.

"We have aligned ourselves with the Uefa position and 55 nations are stronger than one voice.

"Their statement since then has talked about a lack of confidence in the Fifa leadership and the Scottish FA agree completely with that decision.

"The SFA will not be voting for Gianni Infantino come the re-election in early 2027."

Maxwell rejected the suggestion that the SFA had previously failed to publicly state it no longer supported Infantino because its president, Mike Mulraney, heads up the Fifa finance committee.

The Football Associations of England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have already declared they have withdrawn support for Infantino, who is scheduled to stand for a fourth term as president in March.

'A profound lack of judgement'

Last week, Fifa and Infantino were accused of breaking trust "through deception", in an open letter issued by Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation.

The letter, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three regional governing bodies, said recent controversy over the FFE proposal was fundamentally about "the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it".

While the statement did not name Infantino, sources have told BBC Sport that it should be seen as an opportunity for him to resign and leave his position with dignity.

Fifa has committed to presenting a report on FFE to the next meeting of the Fifa council, which is expected to take place in October.

The three confederations said this failed to "recognise that proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgement would require that such a review be conducted by a fully independent third party".

It also underlined a legal warning made by Uefa that Fifa should not delete or destroy any documents related to the abandoned plans.

BBC Sport understands that there have been preliminary discussions between the three confederations over breakaway competitions, should Infantino remain in situ. However, substantive talks are yet to begin, according to others.

At present there is no candidate who has put their name forward to stand against Infantino, before a 18 November deadline.

Very difficult to predict who has the upper hand

The football world appears to have been split down the middle by the issue, with the confederations of Africa, South American and Oceania having backed Infantino.

But even within confederations, there is disagreement and it makes it very difficult to predict whether Infantino or his opponents have the upper hand in this battle.

In Oceania, which has 11 member associations, New Zealand has said it will not follow the confederation and vote for him.

Mexico, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis have broken away from the other 32 Concacaf nations to support the Fifa president.

Of the 46 Asian confederations members, so far eight countries have split to champion Infantino's cause - the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Kuwait, Mongolia, the Philippines and Bhutan.

The Fifa Council, on which there are 36 confederation and national association heads plus Infantino, seems similarly split.

It raises questions about whether Infantino has the political power to govern Fifa, even if he wins an election of the 211 member associations.

The first test of Uefa's threat is just over three weeks away, when the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup is set to kick off. It is being hosted by Poland and features five other European nations, including England.

- Dale Johnson and Chris McLaughlin

A FORMER YOUNG AFRICANS (YANGA) PLAYER HAS PASSED AWAY | CHICO USHINDI

Former Yanga SC winger Chico Ushindi has passed away on December 13, 2025, in Lubumbashi, DR Congo, at Medicare Hospital.

Career Highlights

Chico Ushindi, born January 7, 1996, played as a right winger for DR Congo's national team and clubs including TP Mazembe, AS Vita Club, Yanga SC, Nejmeh SC in Lebanon, and most recently JS Groupe Bazano. His death from an undisclosed illness was confirmed by Yanga SC, though no official cause has been released.

Tributes

Social media posts from fans and pages mourn the 29-year-old, calling him a former star of TP Mazembe, AS Vita, and Yanga, with messages like "Pumzika kwa Amani" (Rest in peace). 

Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.

RISING LEBANESE SOCCER PLAYER IN COMA AFTER ISRAELI STRIKES

Celine Haidar, a ray of light on and off the pitch, always ready to give her best. ©Photo courtesy of Celine Haidar's Instagram page

Leading Lebanese footballer Celine Haidar is in a medically induced coma after she was critically wounded in an Israeli strike near her home in Beirut's southern suburbs, putting her international championship prospects on hold.

Captain of her club team and already included in the national youth team twice, the 19-year-old didn't allow her training to be interrupted by Israel's bombardment, as her family fled to a mountain town east of Beirut.

She assured her family she would leave every time the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for a neighbourhood it was intending to bomb.

But on Saturday, she was asleep when the Israeli military spokesman posted an evacuation warning for her neighbourhood. Her parents called and urged her to leave immediately, but time was short.

An Israeli warplane struck as she leapt onto her motorbike. She was hit by shrapnel, which left her with severe brain injuries, including multiple skull fractures and brain bleeding.

The Israeli military was not immediately available to comment on the strike.

She is now in an intensive care unit at Saint George Hospital in Beirut, according to her coach, Samer Barbary.

Her parents, Abbas Haidar and Sanaa Shahrour, stand watch over her.

"I never thought I would have a daughter like her," her father said. "She has dreams and strength. She always told me: 'You'll see what I will accomplish tomorrow.'"

She is among over 15,000 people wounded by Israeli strikes over the past year, with bombardment of Beirut's suburbs escalating dramatically over the past two months.

The Israeli military says it is striking infrastructure belonging to armed group Hezbollah, which counted the suburbs, as well as south and east Lebanon, as its strongholds.

More than 670 women and 230 children are among the more than 3,500 people killed, Lebanon's health ministry says.

Haidar's teammates have hung a poster at their training field saying: "We are waiting for you."

"She is the cornerstone of our team," her teammate Lama Abdin, 18, said. "But we will play for her. We will achieve her big dreams."

Barbary said Haidar had already represented Lebanon twice with the under-19 national team, which won the 2022 West Asia cup that was held in Lebanon. She was already selected for the senior national team and was expected to be selected for the upcoming West Asia championship, he said.

Even though doctors say they do not know when she will wake up again, her mother, Sanaa, has refused to give up hope.

"I am waiting for you. Don't give up. You are a hero. Every night, I see you in my dreams, coming back to me," she told Reuters.

- Reuters 

QATAR BEGINS DEFENCE ASIAN CUP WITH WIN OVER LEBANON

 

Akram Afif inspired hosts Qatar to victory in the opening match of the Asian Cup.

Asian Cup hosts Qatar kickstarted their title defence with a 3-0 win over Lebanon in the tournament opener on Friday with a brace from their prized playmaker Akram Afif and a goal from Almoez Ali.

Following a glitzy opening ceremony with Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani also in attendance at the Lusail Stadium, the two forwards stole the show to kick off the tournament with three points in the bag for the hosts.

Qatar scored early through the 2019 tournament's top scorer Ali and the crowd went ballistic when he found the net, but the euphoria died down quickly when everyone saw the assistant referee's flag up for offside.

The hosts dominated the opening stages but Lebanon slowly found their footing, with veteran skipper Hassan Maatouk firing a warning shot straight at Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.