A monumental week in the world of football has thrown the leadership of Fifa president Gianni Infantino into serious jeopardy.
On Tuesday, media reports uncovered a secret plan to sell stakes in Fifa competitions to private investors, crucially including selling off parts of the World Cup to investors.
Multiple football federations expressed their outrage at the proposal, claiming they had been blindsided. The Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) led the way, with Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) all condemning the move.
In the face of overwhelming backlash, Infantino announced on Friday he was abandoning the plans as “it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place”.
What have the football federations said?
Multiple football federations and leagues have come out against Infantino since they botched plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
Uefa was the most vocal opponent of the scheme, and subsequently came out with a scathing statement on behalf of its 55 national association members, naming Infantino as having “failed to deliver” and that it had lost confidence in his leadership.
The European federation’s furious reaction shows the sell-off plan has done deep damage to Infantino’s reputation, with discontent still brewing among Fifa members.
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of Fifa’s member associations to elect him as their president in 2016, he said, ‘Of course we have to be transparent’,” Uefa’s statement added.
“The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent.”
Infantino has come under severe pressure after his plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup was revealed (Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)Concacaf released its own slightly softer statement, which nevertheless called for “a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency”.
It added: “It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour.”
The English FA echoed the sentiment of the Uefa criticism, calling for a “full and robust review of Fifa’s leadership and governance”.
Javier Tebas, president of Spain’s LaLiga, issued a more targeted criticism of Infantino himself.
He wrote on X on Saturday: “I believe Gianni Infantino must not continue at the helm of FIFA. World football needs new leadership that modernizes its governance.”
Both his senior advisor, Carlos Cordeiro and chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour have both resigned.
Even Andy Burnham commented on the controversy, saying Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead global football, after previously labelling the investment plan “an outrageous suggestion”.
How could Fifa oust him?
Having ascended to Fifa presidency in 2016, Infantino has since faced two elections unopposed and despite grumblings about the 2026 World Cup in North America, he was widely expected to run again without much trouble in the upcoming election in March.
But the outlook has rapidly changed since the first reports of the secret plan on Tuesday 28 July, with a significant portion of Fifa members like Uefa and Concacaf coming out against his premiership.
While it looks unlikely he will outright resign like his predecessor Sepp Blatter, this election in 2027 could present the opportunity for his critics to oust him.
Another option would be for the Fifa Council to call an emergency meeting, which would require 19 out of 37 votes and could convene to call for the president to resign – though he could refuse.
Fifa could call an extraordinary congress of the 221 members which could be held if 43 associations request it – Uefa has 55 alone.
At the congress, 106 votes would be needed to call for a vote of no confidence. Pressure may rise on FA’s to to vote against him if commercial partners begin to pull out as happened in 2015, the year Sepp Blatter stood down.
Who has defended Infantino?
On Saturday evening, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), praised Infantino for scrapping the investment plans.
The statement said his decision was “a wise one”, adding its president Fouzi Lekjaa “reiterated his support” for Infantino.
Morocco is set to host the next World Cup in 2030, while 2022 host Qatar also came out in support of Infantino.
Its statement from president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani on X, read: “The Qatar Football Association fully supports President Infantino’s efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally.”
Mexico is also thought to have distanced itself somewhat from Concacaf’s comments against the embattled Fifa president.
Who could replace him?
Two sources close to the matter have told The i Paper that Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is “making moves” to run for the Fifa presidency against a damaged Infantino in March.
Montagliani stands behind Infantino at England’s World Cup quarter-final clash against Norway in Miami (Photo: AFP)A source with knowledge of Concacaf’s meeting said that not only was there blanket condemnation for the proposal, “the sentiment and discussion expressed among the vast majority of Concacaf members is that they are losing confidence, or have lost confidence, in the ability of Gianni Infantino as Fifa president moving forward”.
Montagliani is a long-standing ally of Infantino and is one of eight current Fifa vice-presidents. He became the first non-Caribbean Concacaf president since 1969 to be appointed in the aftermath of the corruption scandal in 2015.
Having delivered a largely successful North American World Cup this summer, the Canadian is now at the peak of his powers, in an ideal position to overthrow a figure who is doing his best to dissuade the entire footballing world of his legitimacy.
AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has also been floated as a potential candidate, who undersigned the federation’s public criticism of the sell off plan, and could have the backing of AFC’s 46 member states.
Several influential figures within European football had hoped that Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi would stand against Infantino.
But it is thought that the 52-year-old is not interested in the role.
“Mr al-Khelaifi has absolutely no ambition, no intention and no interest in the Fifa role and all this media noise, and instead will continue to quietly and constructively support all the institutions of world and European football,” a spokesperson for Khelaifi said.
Any candidates who do want to stand against Infantino, currently the only horse in the race, must come forward by 18 November.
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