Argentina and Mexico join Africa in backing FIFA’s Infantino: What to know

World football’s growing divide has deepened with the declarations of support for FIFA’s defiant Gianni Infantino by Argentina and Mexico, coming only a day after Africa unanimously voted to back the president of football’s global governing body.

Infantino continues to face fierce backlash over a now-abandoned proposal to sell off a number of commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA events.

Following a meeting in Rabat this week, FIFA said it had apologised to its members for mistakes around the proposal. It also pledged to review the processes that led to the controversy, but backed its president .

Infantino’s biggest opponent remains UEFA, the sport’s governing body in Europe, which confirmed on Thursday that it stands by its vote to boycott FIFA . One of its members, Norway, has now called for the Swiss Italian’s resignation.

Al Jazeera takes a look at the growing standoff, which is pushing countries and entire continents in different directions.

Although only football associations, not continental confederations, the move by Mexico and Argentina will come as a significant boost to Infantino, but is also a prime example of the civil war brewing in the so-called “people’s game”.

In supporting Infantino, the Mexican ⁠Football Federation (FMF), cohosts of the recently concluded 2026 World Cup, have crucially broken ranks with their own regional confederation by backing Infantino after CONCACAF called for a “comprehensive reckoning” with his presidency.

“The FMF will neither recognise nor ‌approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework, and it joins the call made … by President Infantino to collectively continue developing football for the benefit of the 211 member associations,” it said in a statement.