FIFA World Cup 2026

Last edited:
Uefa has 'lost confidence' in Infantino's Fifa leadership



Infantino's term ends in March 2027, but given his conduct, it would be nice to see him kicked out on his arse before then if possible.
They should re-play Egypt Vs Arg match after he resigns : )))
 

Infantino on the brink? Who might replace him if he goes?​


Fifa president Gianni Infantino waves while walking


Fifa president Gianni Infantino arrives for the World Cup final on 19 July
Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter
31 July 2026

Life moves fast for Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

It was doing so last month as he was zig-zagging across the United States in a private jet to make him virtually omnipresent as the World Cup reached its crescendo.

On 19 July he must have felt on top of the world as, together with US President Donald Trump, they handed the trophy over to Spain.

Less than two weeks later, Infantino is in a lonely place after scrapping controversial plans to sell off stakes in Fifa competitions to private investment.

Condemned by UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, castigated by fans of the game he professes to want to protect. These can easily be deflected as hazards of the job.

Less so the threatened boycott of Fifa competitions by European governing body Uefa, and its subsequent stunning statement in which it declared it had lost confidence in Infantino's leadership.
 
Concacaf (North and Central America and the Caribbean) and the AFC (Asia) also - in their own ways - have offered withering assessments of how Fifa is being run under Infantino.

"This issue extends far beyond a single proposal," said the AFC. "Rather, it has exposed fundamental weaknesses in Fifa's consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed."

Sources say, in addition to rejecting Infantino's plan, the vast majority of the Concacaf members are either losing faith in the Fifa president's ability to govern the game, or have lost it altogether.

On top of that, Carlos Cordeiro, special adviser to Infantino and appointed by Trump as senior adviser to the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup, has resigned.

Fifa's chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said in a statement to Associated Press that Fifa's own administration was "deceived" about the project.

BBC Sport has approached Fifa for comment.

It feels as though the walls are closing in on Infantino.

But if this is the beginning of the end of his tenure, who takes over?
 

Might Infantino really go?​

Firstly, it is wise to be realistic.

Speaking to BBC Sport earlier this week, former Football Association chairman David Bernstein said of Infantino: "In a normal organisation, if he has to back down due to something of this magnitude he'd probably be shown the door.

"But Fifa is not a normal organisation. If he has the support of enough of the national associations, he will continue."

Former Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce said he thought Infantino would "still have enough support" to be re-elected but "if things continue at the pace they are continuing, who knows?"

He added: "If I was a betting man, which I'm not, I would still bet he will get his final four-year term."

Infantino has been Fifa president since 2016. Before that he was secretary general of Uefa for seven years. Few know the map of football politics better than him.
 
Now 56, Infantino became president by beating Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa by 115 votes to 88. His task was to clean up an organisation tainted by corruption allegations following the resignation of predecessor Sepp Blatter. Blatter was cleared of corruption charges last year.

"I will work tirelessly to bring football back to Fifa and Fifa back to football," said Infantino at the time.

He has twice been re-elected unopposed, and it was expected the same thing would happen again next March. This is not unusual. Blatter was unopposed in 2007 and 2011.

Brazilian Joao Havelange was the last person to unseat a Fifa president in an election, ousting Sir Stanley Rous in 1974. No-one opposed Havelange for five straight terms until he finally resigned in 1998, aged 82.

Letters of support backing Infantino's re-election have been submitted. Will they be withdrawn?
 

The five dramatic days that shook Infantino and world football​


Fifa president Gianni Infantino


Fifa president Gianni Infantino has withdrawn his controversial World Cup funding plan
Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Any hope Gianni Infantino might have had of tiptoeing away from the scene of his World Cup private-investment wreckage having sustained only minor damage to his reputation disappeared on Saturday.

Uefa - the governing body of European football - went straight for the head of world game, saying it had "lost confidence" in his leadership.

It was one of the most ferocious statements ever aimed at the holder of that position.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top