The English Football Association is preparing to withdraw its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president following the collapse of his bid to privatise part of the World Cup.

Infantino’s leadership has come under severe pressure amid a broad loss of confidence triggered by his failed effort to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

Wales became the first member association to formally remove its support for the Swiss-Italian in a move aimed at forcing him out, and England is now expected to do the same.

The FA is getting ready to send a letter to FIFA withdrawing its backing, adding to the pressure on Infantino.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham was pictured alongside Infantino.

Infantino, whose 10-year spell in charge is facing mounting scrutiny, announced on Friday night that he was dropping the heavily criticised proposal, which had already been rejected by three confederations after first emerging earlier in the week.

Concacaf, the confederation covering North America and the Caribbean, and the Asian Football Confederation were angered by the absence of consultation, while Europe’s governing body UEFA threatened to boycott all FIFA competitions, including next year’s Women’s World Cup and the 2030 World Cup, before Infantino eventually backed down.

After Infantino reversed course, UEFA confirmed it had lost confidence in his leadership, condemning the “shabby, backroom deal”, and has now written to the FIFA president to say it is “actively considering” legal action over the sell-off proposal.

The letter instructs Infantino and FIFA to “take immediate steps to identify, locate, and preserve all documents and electronically stored information described in this notice that are in your or FIFA’s possession, custody, or control”.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Infantino is the “wrong man” to lead FIFA, while the FA called for a “full and robust review” of his leadership in the aftermath of the U-turn.

Infantino also faced criticism from inside his own administration, with senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigning over the plans, while FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said the president had “deceived” FIFA staff.

The plan centred on the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise and the sale of a 20 per cent stake to private investors, with Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Eternal reportedly lined up as the lead investor group. Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump.

Trump, however, said he had not discussed the sell-off proposal with Infantino before it was abandoned.

United States President Donald Trump had insisted he had not spoken to Infantino about the sell-off plan.

There have been calls for Infantino to resign, but at present he is still due to stand for re-election in March 2027.

UEFA has suggested that “no option should be off the table” over Infantino’s future, indicating that a no-confidence vote could be a possibility.

If such a step were initiated by only 43 national associations, it would require an Extraordinary FIFA Congress.

Even so, that course of action is viewed as unlikely unless there is a firm belief, if not certainty, that a majority of FIFA’s 211 member nations would vote to remove Infantino at such a meeting.

Meanwhile, several African and Asian football bodies, including those from Morocco, Egypt and Qatar, publicly expressed their support for Infantino over the weekend.