The decision was made by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) during an extraordinary board meeting on Monday.
Just over two days earlier, it was announced that the plans that Gianni Infantino - president of the International Football Association Board (FIFA) since 2016 - to sell shares in, among other things, the World Cup to private investors were being scrapped.
All the information that has come to light with the latest project has clearly tipped the scales completely, says Simon Åström, chairman of SvFF, at a digital press conference.
“Foundation-based support globally”
Together with other members of the European Football Association (UEFA), Sweden will now work on a counter-candidate to Infantino for the FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, in March.
Åström does not want to mention any names or what profile the person is supposed to have, including geographical residence.
To name a few parts, it is to lead FIFA's operations with a high degree of transparency, with a high degree of participation, and with leadership that ensures that the processes required for this to be fully classified as a democratic organization are followed.
It remains to be seen how likely it is that Infantino will be voted out at the congress, says Åström.
What we notice is that there is a fairly strong force right now that is blowing in the direction that people are not satisfied, he says and continues:
At the same time, we also know that there are national federations and parts of the football world that still support and back Infantino. And until just a few weeks ago, you can see that Infantino has had solid support if you look globally, says Åström.
After this summer's World Cup, Infantino had the support of around 200 of FIFA's 211 member associations - including 50 of UEFA's 55 national associations, according to The Guardian. However, Sweden had not sent any so-called letter of support to the Swiss and actually wanted to wait until closer to the congress before making a decision.
“Fragmented football world”
On the other hand, SvFF's confidence in Infantino had already begun to waver when US President Donald Trump received a newly established peace prize from FIFA in December last year.
An award that we think crosses all lines that are about football being apolitical.
What will be the consequence if Infantino is not voted out?
"I think one consequence is that we will have a fragmented football world, as it is obvious that a large part of the world's national associations do not have confidence in his leadership going forward," says Simon Åström.
