Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney has played down suggestions that Fifa is planning major reforms, arguing that the letter sent out by president Gianni Infantino does not say what the headlines claimed.
Infantino has proposed an external review of how world football’s governing body operates and says he is open to reform. In a letter sent to members of the Fifa Council and to all of its national associations, the Fifa president explains that the independent process would “recommend potential improvements”.
Mooney, however, read the document differently. “I’ve seen the headlines today about major reform at Fifa – that’s not how the letter read to me, to be frank,” he said. “I saw the letter itself that was sent out, it doesn’t actually say reform of Fifa itself. It talks about reform around strategic projects and initiatives. They would look at how they were consulted and how decisions were made around that.”
The exchange comes amid growing pressure on Infantino over his aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have involved selling stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors and which sparked a major backlash. The Welsh governing body was among the first national associations to withdraw its backing for Infantino’s bid to continue leading Fifa, and Mooney reiterated that the FAW would not be endorsing his candidature.
Infantino will stand for election for a fourth time in March 2027, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate.
Speaking on the BBC Radio Wales Phone-In, Mooney set out why he believes the FAW should not support the incumbent. “With the Fifa president, you’re looking for a moral guardian of the game,” he said. “You’re not looking for somebody to sell off parts of the game. The World Cup does not need private equity. They have billions and billions of dollars in reserve.”
He went on to call for a bigger share of the game’s money to be directed towards grassroots facilities. “Give us the money. Let us build the pitches. You’ve got loads of reserves. Let’s have it as soon as possible,” he said.
Mooney also recalled raising the issue directly with the federations. “There was a summit in Miami before as the World Cup kicked off, a meeting of all 211 federations,” he said. “I stood up at that meeting and said, look, I mean, the revenue for Qatar was around eight billion. The revenue for this World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico is 16 billion. Therefore, it’s 100% increase in revenue, give us 100% growth.”
Infantino succeeded Sepp Blatter as Fifa president in 2016.