Mexico have dramatically broken ranks with the USA, Canada and other Concacaf nations by backing under-fire FIFA president Gianni Infantino as the civil war engulfing world football intensifies.
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) publicly threw its support behind Infantino on Thursday night despite the mounting pressure on the 56-year-old following his controversial attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup.
The proposal sparked widespread fury when details emerged and was eventually abandoned amid fierce opposition.
Concacaf subsequently joined the revolt against Infantino, issuing a damning statement criticising the process surrounding the plan.
But Mexico have now distanced themselves from the governing body representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean by explicitly supporting the FIFA president.
"The Mexican Football Federation is convinced that football is its fundamental value and that its best defense lies in institutional integrity and respect for the governance and processes that safeguard it," the FMF said.
"Therefore, the FMF will not recognize or approve any process convened outside of this institutional framework, and it embraces the call issued by President Infantino on August 5, 2026, to collectively continue developing football for the benefit of its 211 member associations.
"The FMF supports President Infantino's leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening."
Argentina followed Mexico by issuing its own statement backing Infantino and expressing support for his management of FIFA over the past decade.
The Confederation of African Football has also reaffirmed its support, providing Infantino with further allies as he battles to remain in power.
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However, the FMF's stance contrasts sharply with Concacaf, which revealed last month that it only discovered details of the controversial proposal through media reports.
Concacaf said it was "deeply concerned by the lack of due process" and stressed the importance of good governance and consultation.
The divisions come with UEFA continuing to pile pressure on Infantino.
European football's governing body reiterated on Thursday that it had lost confidence in the FIFA president following the abandoned World Cup sell-off.
UEFA had initially demanded the proposal be withdrawn and guarantees provided that similar attempts would never happen again before ending its World Cup boycott.
But it is believed Infantino's departure is now required, as things stand, before European heavyweights including England, Spain, France and Germany return to the competition.
Infantino received a significant boost on Wednesday when FIFA announced members of its council had given him their "full support" following crisis talks in Morocco.
FIFA acknowledged "mistakes" over the abandoned proposal, apologised to football associations and promised a review.
Yet FIFPRO has maintained the pressure, with the global players' union describing what happened as a "profound abuse of presidential power".
It has demanded substantial governance reforms and safeguards to prevent a repeat of the controversy.
"The withdrawal of FFE prevented an irreversible decision," FIFPRO said. "It did not restore the confidence that made such a proposal possible in the first place.
"That confidence has now been fundamentally broken."
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