Gianni Infantino is fighting for survival as FIFA president, and he might already have lost a battle he didn’t even expect to face.
After a week of disastrous miscalculations over his control and influence as the most powerful figure in world soccer, Infantino’s attempt to sell off a stake in future World Cups, which was scrapped on Friday night, now threatens to wreck his plans to secure reelection in 2027. In soccer terms, Infantino has entered stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes with a 3-0 lead, but a series of reckless decisions and mistakes have wiped out his advantage and left him one slip away from a decisive defeat.
But how likely is it that Infantino, 56, will be ousted or forced to resign? Will his decision to pull the plug on his controversial plans be viewed as one which saves his job, or as a display of weakness that finally forces him out?
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There is a process that could see him removed, 10 years after his election as successor to the discredited Sepp Blatter, but it is not an easy path for his opponents to take. It requires 43 member nations to trigger a vote of no confidence against Infantino, but his opponents would need a credible alternative candidate, and nobody has yet emerged to take him on. And a deadline of Nov. 18 is in place for a rival to announce their candidacy before a vote at FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, on March 18 next year.
Infantino already believed he had the numbers to make his reelection a formality, but everything changed this week. Ego, vanity and hubris have all conspired to leave Infantino in such a vulnerable position as head of FIFA that the unthinkable scenario of him being toppled is now a real one.
His attempts to fast-track a $20 billion sale of equity in a newly formed FIFA company — FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) — to an investment company fronted by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law, has been met by global condemnation and hostility. That’s despite Infantino’s sales pitch offering an instant $20 million payment to each of FIFA’s 211 member associations, followed by a further $66 million before 2037, should the plan be accepted by a majority of nations.
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The confederations of UEFA (Europe), Concacaf (North and Central America) and AFC (Asia) all have rejected the plan, meaning a combined 143 member associations are opposed. Infantino needed 106 votes to pass his proposal, so with only 68 votes still on the table in Africa, South America and Oceania, the project is dead in the water.
But it has gone beyond a simple numbers game.
UEFA’s confirmation that all of Europe’s 55 nations, including world champions Spain, will boycott all of FIFA’s tournaments unless the plan is abandoned has killed any prospect of the proposal going ahead, because a World Cup without Spain, Germany, England and France is unlikely to appeal to those billionaires attempting to buy a slice of the World Cup pie.
And with two senior FIFA executives speaking out on Friday against Infantino’s unilateral attempt to force through his plan — former U.S. Soccer president and FIFA adviser to the White House task force for the World Cup Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, while chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff were “deceived” by the lack of openness in planning the private investor scheme — it is clear to see that Infantino’s grip on power is loosening almost by the hour.
That said, Infantino is a man with powerful friends and associates. He has forged a close alliance with Trump, the Qatari royal family and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, and for as long as he retains their backing, it would be foolish and naïve to write him off. But powerful leaders tend to dispense with people who can no longer serve their needs; if Infantino’s plan really has gone up in smoke, he might also discover that his friends in high places quickly stop taking his calls, and that reality will embolden his opponents within world soccer.
Infantino’s critics see a man who is desperate to cling to power, but that his power is diminishing because of his many mistakes. Despite hugely growing FIFA’s revenues since 2016, he has brought shame, humiliation and mockery to the organization’s door.
Infantino was criticized for handing Saudi Arabia hosting rights for the 2034 men’s World Cup without a full and proper bidding process. He generated ridicule for finding a way to include Inter Miami in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup last summer simply to ensure that Lionel Messi was involved in the tournament. But his autocratic, dictatorial style reached new levels before and during the 2026 World Cup.
It began with his decision to create the FIFA Peace Prize, which was awarded unilaterally to Trump in December. In July, Trump admitted to calling Infantino to help ensure that United States forward Folarin Balogun’s red card would be overturned to enable him to play in the round-of-16 tie against Belgium.
Infantino’s obsequious behavior in the company of politicians and celebrities during the World Cup added further layers to the animosity that had developed toward him from fans and fellow soccer officials alike.
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Now he is fighting on several fronts — for his audacious sell-off plan which he was forced to scrap, for his attempt to expand the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, his battle against UEFA and, ultimately, his fight to remain FIFA president.
Infantino is losing allies and emboldening enemies at an alarming pace, and his attempt to cash in on the success of the World Cup might prove to be the mistake that forces him out of power and out of soccer.
