Infantino’s colossal ego has put the World Cup in danger ...Middle East

There is Gianni Infantino, sat watching Malawi vs Zambia at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat, coincidentally the place where he could be filmed smiling and acting as if nothing had happened. There is Mattias Grafstrom next to him, public denouncer of Infantino’s gross World Cup sale plan. And now comes the united front.

Later on Wednesday night, the business-as-usual mandate was presented. Fifa confirmed that Infantino would stay as president, that they had written “Lol, soz” letters to each of the 211 member associations and that Infantino had the full support of the leadership team.

“Fifa’s top management is fully confident that the outcomes of today’s meeting will strengthen Fifa’s governance, help restore confidence in the organisation and enable us to prepare for the major events and challenges ahead in a united and transparent manner,” read Fifa’s statement. It works better if you do outlandish winks after each of the claims to everyone listening.

Do these people think that we are stupid or do they simply not care what we think of them? It can only be one of those two options.

The Fifa president, seemingly without consulting many of the individuals who work around him and certainly without consulting any member association, just tried to do a deal to sell off the World Cup, making himself leader of this new organisation on a vast salary. Please, tell us more about the “united and transparent manner”. Spare us no detail on the strength of Fifa’s governance.

As for restoring confidence in the organisation, this can be nothing but a mind trick: tell yourself something loud enough and often enough, close all the doors and windows to any feedback and maybe you really can believe that you can ride through this storm. Hey, do you remember a few years ago, when the supposed guardians of the game backed the guy who tried to sell said game off on the sly? No, nor me. Must have never happened.

“It was agreed that it was not the intention for the Fifa council and Fifa member associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently,” is my personal favourite line from the statement (and you may well have your own). In what way was it not Infantino’s intention, when he could literally have told them and didn’t. You see I slipped and fell off the ladder and landed right onto the tomato ketchup bottle, honest.

Until now, this has broadly been a Gianni Infantino problem. He masterminded the plan. He got caught out by the leaks. He was forced to climb down. He had to rally around his support base to cling to power. He had to watch on as member associations and political leaders damned his grim avarice.

But make no mistake: this is a deepening Fifa crisis too. Move swiftly to distance themselves from the actions of their leader and throw Infantino to the lions before promising better, more transparent, more serious leadership, and we could have got on board. There will always be a latent mistrust of large governing bodies, but we could have at least accepted that appropriate action was taken.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Infantino’s distraction techniques also threaten to topple football over. The reported promise of the World Cup final to Morocco over Spain, playing the two countries off against each other at a time of heightening Ceuta-related political tension this week; the expansion to 64 teams that will require another continent to joint-host. Why are we all still dancing to one man’s beat? 

Infantino’s continued presence, even in the short term, was a leak in the roof of Fifa’s house: what starts as a steady quickly leads to permanent staining and water damage before the ceiling eventually caves in. For anyone in that management board to be standing by his side is an act of wanton self-immolation. It is a chronically thick reading of the room.

Read more

Fifa needs a structural overhaul. This crisis is a two-headed beast: it occurred through the self-interest of one man, but it became possible because of how power is concentrated at the very top of the organisation – ending in the chair of the president. There is simply too much at stake to make one person oversee it all. Power doesn’t have to cook up corruption, but it certainly buys all the ingredients.

The task has now widened. Infantino must go – the campaigning and the backlash cannot be allowed to die down. Outrage fatigue must be beaten.

But also: get them all out. Get rid of everyone who believes that a quick “sorry, we’re not quite sure what happened there” is good enough. Cut out everyone who thinks forgive and forget is an option here. Nobody reasonable could ever trust Infantino. Nobody reasonable could ever trust anyone who trusts Infantino again. While some in Fifa fight for their president, they’re ignoring the fire that will burn down their house.

Hence then, the article about infantino s colossal ego has put the world cup in danger was published today ( Thursday 06/08/2026 - 01:40 PM ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Infantino’s colossal ego has put the World Cup in danger )

Also on site :

• 1975 Rock Ballad, 'One of Pop Music's Saddest Songs,' Was Inspired by a Heartbreak That Wouldn't Heal
• FX's The Shards: Which Parts Of Bret Easton Ellis' Story Actually Happened — And What Did He Make Up?
• Global Times: China's innovation-driven growth can support more inclusive global development, says Arkebe Oqubay