A bruising 24 hours - what next for Fifa and under-pressure Infantino?

A week is a long time in politics. Football politics took a dramatic turn on Tuesday morning when Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, found his position under threat. Infantino attempted to sell stakes in Fifa competitions to private investment firms without informing anyone else, causing alarm within the organization. Uefa, Infantino's main critic, threatened to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup, giving them the chance to remove the president.

Other confederations, such as Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation, also called for a full review of Fifa's leadership. Two of Infantino's closest allies, senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, resigned. Uefa then issued a strong statement expressing loss of confidence in Infantino's leadership.

The situation left Infantino in a precarious position. He could resign, similar to his predecessor Sepp Blatter in 2015, or face an extraordinary congress of the 211 Fifa member associations, which would require 43 associations to request it and have a minimum of three months for the vote. Uefa has 55 nations, Africa has 54, Asia has 46, Concacaf has 35, Oceania has 11, and Conmebol has 10.

The next step would be an extraordinary congress, but it would be difficult for Uefa to achieve the necessary votes. A European candidate, such as Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, might be the most likely candidate to challenge Infantino for the presidency in March.