Gianni Infantino is facing a battle to cling onto his Fifa presidency heading into next year’s election after his botched bid to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors resulted in a significant loss in support.

England and Wales have been among the football associations to join European governing body Uefa in leading the charge for Infantino’s removal from power, formally withdrawing their endorsement of the Swiss-Italian for re-election in March 2027 .

But as the dust has settled on his privatisation ploy, Infantino’s bid for a third term has strengthened.…