World Football Association: Final for Infantino: Despite failed investor deal, resistance against Fifa chief grows
European football has lost trust in the FIFA president, the players' association is rebelling. How dangerous is the revolt for Gianni Infantino, really?
New York. Just a few weeks ago, Gianni Infantino was being celebrated as a winner. The World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico was the most commercially successful in history, as the president of the world football association Fifa emphasized several times. Now he is fighting for his job.
The trigger was a plan that Infantino considered a coup: selling shares in the billion-dollar World Cup business to private investors. The proposal has split the world of football. Although Fifa has since withdrawn the plan, the criticism has intensified this week, and it is coming from many sides.
The Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) still wants to boycott all Fifa competitions and has lost trust in the president, the European association confirmed on Thursday. The players' union FIFPRO speaks of a "serious abuse of presidential power". Even within his own organization, there is protest: one of Infantino's closest advisors, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned.
The company's chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, described the project as "a one-person project". The dispute is no longer just about the sale, but about Infantino's authority - and his re-election in March 2027. However, the Fifa president can only be removed by votes against him, but so far, he has them on his side. This is likely also due to the way Fifa distributes its income.
Translated by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report; automated translation may contain errors. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
