Gianni Infantino’s future as FIFA President remains in serious doubt, talkSPORT understands.
It follows the shelving of plans to form a subsidiary body called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would have been part-funded by private equity and promised federations $40m each to join.
Infantino sensationally backed down from the contentious project admitting it had ‘created divisions’, and off the back of UEFA threatening to boycott FIFA competitions if FFE got off the ground.
Infantino also lost the support of lead financier Joshua Kushner and JP Morgan in an embarrassing 48 hours where his grip of FIFA weakened.
Senior FIFA advisor Carlos Cordeiro also stood down, while FIFA COO Kevin Lamour issued a statement saying Infantino had ‘deceived staff’. And British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called Infantino the ‘wrong man’ for the job.
Gianni, you’ve got mail
talkSPORT can reveal that UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is discussing whether to ask all UEFA members that have backed Infantino in writing, a number believed to be above 40, to revoke their support.
UEFA declined to comment when approached.
Some senior figures in the English FA, speaking on condition of anonymity, have already discussed whether to remove their formal endorsement given to Infantino ahead of the World Cup.
The FA also issued a formal statement on Saturday calling for urgent change.
“It is time for a full and robust review of FIFA’s leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently, for the benefit of all 211 member nations and with the long term stewardship of football at its heart,” the statement read.
talkSPORT understands the German FA remain opposed to Infantino standing, while the Norwegian, Polish, French, Swedish, Belgium, Canadian, Mexican and Jordanian federations will all hold meetings to discuss their stance.
How do FIFA presidential elections work?
It is also understood Infantino could face an emergency FIFA council meeting in which he will be asked to resign or remove his candidacy for 2027.
4
Concacaf issue statement as FFE proposal withdrawn
Concacaf and its 41 Member Associations welcome the withdrawal of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
The Confederation also commends its 41 Member Associations and the wider football family for the courage and unity they have shown this week. At a moment that demanded principled leadership, our members stood together in defence of football’s long-term interests and the principles of good governance.
That unity has prevailed.
Concacaf would also like to acknowledge and commend the role of the media in bringing this issue out of the shadows and into the light.
The events of recent days have exposed something that cannot now be set aside: the future of the FIFA World Cup, the greatest asset in world football, was advanced outside every established governance framework, without transparency, consultation or due process.
A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. 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. A full review of this leadership must now take place.
This concern is not Concacaf’s alone. It is shared across many confederations, Member Associations and those who serve and love the game. When people entrusted with protecting the game conclude they can no longer do so from within, the football family is entitled to ask how such a proposal was allowed to proceed, and who bears responsibility for it.
FIFA is not a private enterprise. It is a body held in trust for the game and its members. Those appointed to serve it carry a fiduciary duty, a duty of service over power. Where that duty is not upheld, accountability cannot be optional.
As mandated by our Member Associations, Concacaf’s FIFA Council members will engage directly, and through the FIFA Council, to ensure that questions of governance, accountability and leadership are addressed properly through the institutions and procedures established under the FIFA Statutes.
They will also work within that same framework to determine how existing vast reserves can be dispersed to our membership via the FIFA Forward funding for football development across our region, without compromising our shared future.
We are all simple custodians, serving a game that belongs to us all.
The unity demonstrated by our Member Associations this week has reaffirmed that when guided by courage, integrity, and sound governance the game will remain where it belongs: in the hands of football – not a single individual.
There is a strong preference from several UEFA federations for Infantino not to stand again in 2027 and a willingness to block a vote against him if he does. UEFA carries 55 votes with 106 needed to win.
Concacaf also rejected Infantino’s FFE plan and their president Victor Montagliani has aspirations to be FIFA President.
“He has always been focused on Concacaf re-election next year,” said a senior source familiar with Montagliani’s thinking.
“It is quite interesting that Concacaf and UEFA voting together only take a candidate 10 short of a winning a FIFA presidential election.”
The election actually works with a candidate needing a two-thirds majority in the first round – 141 votes – but if a second round is needed then a simple majority is enough for victory.
Who are the candidates that could replace Infantino?
Plenty of UEFA federations would also back Nasser Al-Khelaifi to stand, even though a source close to the PSG president has insisted ‘he has zero ambition to do so’.
4
Gianni Infantino’s timeline of controversies
30 April, 2026: Gianni Infantino confirms at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver he’ll stand for re-election in March 2027
30 April: Infantino tries and fails to orchestrate a handshake between the Palestinian Football Association’s President Jibril Rajoub and Israel FA’s VP Basim Sheikh Suliman
5 December: Infantino awards Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw, an award seemingly created for the US President in light of his Nobel Peace Prize snub
7 June: Iran land in Mexico after moving their training base from America following rising tensions
8 June: Former UEFA president Michel Platini files a criminal complaint in France against both Infantino and FIFA alleging a smear campaign preventing him from succeeding Sepp Blatter as FIFA President
8 June: Somali ref Omar Artan is barred from entering the US with FIFA insisting they couldn’t intervene, while Andrew Giuliani repeatedly accuses Artan of “talking to bad people” without elaboration
8 December: FairSquare make a complaint to FIFA’s Ethics Committee that Infantino has breached political neutrality
10 June: Infantino tells his critics to “chill, relax”
13 June: Trump doesn’t attend the USMNT’s World Cup opener against Paraguay or any other game until the World Cup Final
2 July: Trump calls Infantino and asks him to review Flo Balogun’s red card sustained against Bosnia
5 July: Balogun’s red card is suspended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee despite FIFA insiders originally claiming there were no grounds for appeal
19 July: A 27 minute and 22 second World Cup Final half-time show that Wayne Rooney called “crap”
19 July: Infantino and Trump present Spain with the World Cup trophy with the US President remaining on the podium for the lift
27 July: Infantino tells his critics to “pray, meditate or watch football” in a 15-slide Instagram statement
28 July: Infantino pitches FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) blindsiding confederations in the process
28 July: Sepp Blatter calls the relationship between Infantino and Trump “deeply damaging”
29 July: Infantino tells FIFA’s 211 members they have 53 days to vote on FFE and offers each $40m if they join
30 July: UEFA reject FFE plans and threaten a boycott of all FIFA tournaments if they pass
30 July: Concerns over the project are raised by JP Morgan and private investor Joshua Kushner
31 July: Concacaf and the AFC reject FFE, senior FIFA advisor Carlos Cordeiro quits, FIFA COO Kevin Lamour says Infantino “deceived” staff and British PM Andy Burnham calls on the FIFA President the “wrong person for the job”
1 August: Infantino scraps FFE plans at 00:30 due to “divisions” but falls short of re-sign
Highly-regarded FIFA General Secretary Mattias Granström would prove another popular option.
The Swedish executive is not viewed as tarnished by Infantino’s failed project and is believed to have been totally blindsided by it.
Within FIFA’s currently divided leadership, there are prominent voices who want Infantino to quit now and Granström to take interim charge, potentially positioning him to stand next March.
Legia owner Dariusz Mioduski is another favoured name within UEFA, as talkSPORT revealed last month.
Those close to AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa insist he does not want to go head-to-head against Infantino, despite a strong AFC statement also rejecting FFE.
Multiple AFC and FIFA sources have told talkSPORT that privately there isn’t the same unanimous position among all Asian federations as other confederations. Sheikh Salman would likely only consider whether to run if Infantino removes himself from the ballot.
4
talkSPORT has learned CAF President Patrice Motsepe also wants to be FIFA President one day, but as a close ally of Infantino sources believe he is currently more inclined to throw his support behind the current FIFA President doing one final term.
What is Infantino’s current stance on re-election?
Those familiar with Infantino’s thinking insist he has no plans to resign and is hoping plans to expand the World Cup to 64 teams, potentially as early as 2030, prove to be a vote winner.
Yet Infantino is in danger of a mutiny from some of his closest allies. As with FFE, if it becomes apparent another candidate has enough votes to defeat him, the FIFA President could yet walk.
Further emergency meetings are set to take place between Infantino and his inner circle to determine a path forward. His intent is to battle on, but a unified way forward under his leadership is not guaranteed if confederations and federations continue to vocally call for change.
Infantino is reliant on the fact that, as of now, he has 200-plus votes in writing, but there is nothing to stop federations transferring their support. The deadline for another candidate to come forward is November 18.
Montagliani appears to be the most viable candidate between now and then especially if he garners UEFA backing.
