Infantino

KNVB invites associations and confederations to a summit to discuss the overhaul of FIFA and how it runs football.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino must be replaced by 2027, along with an overhaul of football’s global governing body, the Dutch football association (KNVB) has said.

The KNVB, one of FIFA’s ⁠⁠founding members in 1904, issued a scathing statement on Sunday, saying it had lost confidence in Infantino and wanted to reshape the body rather than just change leadership at the top.

The Dutch body wants to host ⁠⁠an international summit in Amsterdam and has invited football associations and confederations from around the world to participate.

Infantino is expected to run for re-election to the FIFA presidency in March, but world regional football bodies have considered a vote of ‌‌no confidence after his aborted proposal to sell a stake in FIFA events like the World Cup to private equity investors.

“The KNVB no longer has confidence in the leadership of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. We believe FIFA needs new leadership from 2027 onwards,” it said in the statement.

“But a new president alone is not enough. The way FIFA is governed must change as well.

“The KNVB supported Infantino in the most recent presidential election. That support was never ⁠⁠unconditional.”

The KNVB proposed an “International Summit on the Future of FIFA”, ⁠⁠emphasising it should determine “what kind of FIFA we want” before identifying new leadership.

“We see too much power concentrated around the FIFA president and insufficient separation between the President and the FIFA administration,” they added.

FIFA did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for a comment on KNVB’s statement and proposed plans for a summit.

Calls to revamp FIFA’s power structure

Among KNVB’s key demands was a revamp of the decision-making process in the organisation. It called for FIFA’s congress to take the call on key decisions under the governance and supervision of its council.

It proposed a shift of power, whereby the organisation’s secretary-general leads and the president plays the role of representing FIFA globally.

The Dutch body outlined three reform priorities: better governance with stronger checks and balances, putting human rights and sustainability at the heart of ⁠⁠decision-making and stronger international cooperation.

It also wants FIFA to work towards ⁠⁠reinvesting up to 90 percent of its distributable revenue in football development.

Infantino said last week it was FIFA’s job to close the gap between its wealthy members and those that have few financial resources.

“This should not be a European plan for the ‌‌rest of the world,” the KNVB said.

“We want to develop this new direction together with FIFA’s 211 Member Associations and the confederations from all parts of the world.”

The KNVB is part of ‌‌UEFA, ‌‌which asked a United States federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA entities in Florida for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against Infantino.

Much may depend on whether US courts side with Uefa over its requests for disclosure of evidence related to the FFE plan. It is seeking information from Fifa, Thrive Capital – the venture capital firm earmarked as the lead investor in FFE – and its founder Josh Kushner, along with former Formula 1 chief Greg Maffei, who is described as “the key commercial adviser” on the proposed deal. In the case of Thrive and Kushner, Uefa’s lawyers say they are seeking subpoenas for “the production of documents and communications and for deposition testimony”.

Although Kushner, who is the brother of US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is yet to comment, some legal experts believe he could successfully challenge and block a subpoena request by arguing that the details of the deal need to remain confidential to protect his business interests and future investments. Kushner has recently agreed a deal to buy basketball’s Los Angeles Lakers for a record £9.3bn.

It is unclear how long this process could take, or whether Uefa will secure the evidence it needs to support its claim that the World Cup was deliberately undervalued at about £15bn. Nor is it clear whether it will ultimately follow through on its threat to lodge a criminal complaint in Switzerland.

How confident Uefa would be of criminal charges being brought is also highly uncertain. In 2002, in echoes of the current disunity, several Fifa executive committee members filed a criminal complaint against former president Sepp Blatter with a Zurich court, external. The public prosecutor took no action, while Blatter denied wrongdoing. Last year, a long-running attempt by the Swiss Attorney General’s Office to prosecute Blatter and former Uefa president Michel Platini ended with both men being fully cleared of corruption charges.

Perhaps aware of the challenges its legal action could face, Uefa has in the meantime pledged to “secure fundamental reform, restore proper limits on presidential authority and ensure that Fifa is once again governed as an institution – not around one individual”, while demanding “a genuinely independent external review of FFE”.

Given the support he retains in South America, Africa and parts of Asia, and how he has survived everything Uefa has thrown at him in recent weeks, many still expect Infantino to remain in power and seek re-election for a fourth term in the spring. Uefa has warned that, should he do so, it will “join forces with its partner confederations to ensure that member associations are offered a credible alternative – one committed to integrity, accountability, development and genuine institutional change”.

But how likely is it that a unifying challenger will emerge? And how can the game avoid a repeat of such a crisis in future?

European football’s governing body considers making a criminal complaint ​against Infantino over World Cup selloff plans.

UEFA has asked ⁠a US ⁠federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA entities in ⁠Florida for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President ⁠Gianni Infantino, according to a court filing.

In an ex parte application filed under US law, European football’s governing body said it is considering ‌criminal proceedings against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials and advisers over a now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights linked to men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new ⁠subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

“UEFA is actively considering legal action arising out of and in connection with the … plan proposed by FIFA,” read the legal document filed in a Florida court in the United States, according to the AFP news agency.

“More specifically, UEFA and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code.”

UEFA ⁠alleges Infantino developed the proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, bypassing FIFA’s normal ⁠governance processes and failing to consult the FIFA Council, regional confederations ⁠or member associations.

The filing asks ⁠a US court to authorise discovery from FIFA (AMERICAS), Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc., two Florida-based FIFA entities. UEFA ‌said the organisations may possess documents and witnesses relevant to how the FFE transaction ‌was ‌conceived, structured, valued and approved.

Italian football federation says its decision is based on Infantino’s recent initiatives on international competitions.

Italy’s football federation (FIGC) has withdrawn its support for embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino over his failed attempt to sell off stakes in the World Cup.

“This decision is intended to clearly and transparently express the FIGC’s position… regarding the recent initiatives promoted by the FIFA president concerning the governance and development of international competitions,” said a FIGC statement on Wednesday.

The move comes as a host of European national associations, including England, Ireland and Wales, have already scrapped their backing of Infantino, who is seeking re-election at next year’s FIFA Congress.

Infantino has come under increasing pressure to step down as head of world football’s governing body over his now-abandoned plan to secure private investment in FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup.

“We will continue to work alongside UEFA and the other European federations to promote a vision of football based on merit, solidarity, sustainability and the central role of the fans,” said FIGC head Giovanni Malago.

“We identify with a model of dialogue, listening and shared responsibility which has, to date, enabled football to grow, innovate and, at the same time, defend its founding principles.”

However, Italy’s World Cup-winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro, and his Brazilian counterpart, Cafu, have joined a group of former footballers backing Infantino.

Their social media messages expressing support came after another group of former players, led by Frenchman Mikael Silvestre, called for “change” in FIFA’s leadership.

“Over the last ten years, world football has improved,” and footballers “have once again taken centre stage,” Cannavaro – who was part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning team, posted on social media on Wednesday.

“Infantino has done a great job… Not acknowledging that would be intellectually dishonest,” added the former centre-back, who coaches the Uzbekistan national team.

Similar messages were posted on Tuesday night by Brazilians Cafu and Roberto Carlos, Argentines Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso, Colombia’s Ivan Ramiro Cordoba and Mexico’s Jared Borgetti.

“We have followed the work of FIFA and president Infantino to promote the representation of players in football, something that didn’t exist before,” wrote Cafu, who lifted the World Cup with Brazil in 1994 and 2002.

Infantino, the 56-year-old former UEFA secretary general, had the broad backing of European nations when he succeeded Sepp Blatter as FIFA president in 2016.

European football body UEFA said it would formally withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances that Infantino’s failed sell-off plan will not be revived.

UEFA, which oversees European football, had threatened to boycott FIFA competitions.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands back calls for Infantino’s resignation amid FIFA crisis.

Six Nordic football associations have delivered a united blow to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, declaring they have lost confidence in his leadership while demanding sweeping governance reforms at world football’s governing body.

The six Nordic FIFA members – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands – met in Helsinki and issued a rare joint statement on Sunday, backing calls for Infantino’s resignation from three major regional confederations.

They also supported demands for an independent investigation into his proposal to sell a stake in events like the World Cup to private equity investors, a plan that was quickly abandoned in the face of a global backlash.

“The six Nordic football associations have lost confidence in FIFA’s president and are concerned about the organisation’s governance and decision-making at the highest level,” they said in a statement.

“The Nordic football associations stand united with UEFA and support the measures that the organisation and its national member associations have jointly proposed.

“We expect FIFA to provide binding guarantees that the organisation’s governance or competitions will never again be opened up to private ownership.”

FIFA did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

On Friday, Denmark’s football association pledged to find a credible alternative to Infantino in March’s presidential election.

Infantino is under pressure from three confederations to resign: UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF.

The sport’s regional powerhouses in Europe, Asia, and North and Central America and the Caribbean have also discussed a potential vote of no confidence against the FIFA chief.

“We also support the demand made by AFC, CONCACAF and UEFA that a fully independent external investigation into the events surrounding the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal be established,” the Nordic associations added.

“We also call on FIFA to initiate a comprehensive and independent review of its governance framework to determine whether it ensures the independence, checks and balances, transparency and accountability that were intended when FIFA adopted its reform programme in 2016.”

Infantino, who is seeking a fourth term until 2031 in next year’s election, is in the Dominican Republic this weekend, where he has met with officials of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani had asked Infantino to stay away from a youth football tournament in the country, saying his presence would overshadow the event.

“This meeting of the presidents of CFU takes place in the environment of [an] under-14 youth tournament in the region, which actually is one of those tournaments that can take place thanks to the FIFA Forward programme,” Infantino said.

“So even more so a reason to be proud to be here and happy as well because it’s important to engage, to have a dialogue, to express views and opinions.”

FIFA boss turns up at event after CONCACAF chief Montagliani asked him to reconsider amid the global football body’s governance crisis.

Gianni Infantino has defied a request by one of his FIFA vice presidents to stay away from an Under-14 football event in the Caribbean and instead made a rare public appearance during the global furore over his failed plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.

The FIFA president posted photos on his Instagram account on Saturday, showing his meeting with political and football officials from the Dominican Republic on the sidelines of a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament in the Punta Cana resort.

On Friday, Infantino had been asked not to go by Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of the Miami-based Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), to avoid being a distraction from the football games.

“I believe that considering the governance crisis surrounding FIFA as a result of your controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the media will focus on this situation,” Montagliani wrote in an emailed letter seen by The Associated Press news agency, “which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition.”

“As such, I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity,” Montagliani wrote.

FIFA declined to comment on Montagliani’s request, though it noted that it directly funds regional bodies like the CFU with up to $5m from each four-year World Cup cycle.

Montagliani has aligned with fellow FIFA vice presidents Aleksander Ceferin from European body UEFA and Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in seeking to end Infantino’s increasingly executive presidency, now in its 11th year.

They accused Infantino two weeks ago of “deception” in secretly planning over the past year to spin off FIFA’s multibillion-dollar commercial activities to a subsidiary 20 percent owned by investors led by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of United States President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Infantino withdrew the project on August 1 amid a global backlash by football leaders and fans, and hours after his own chief operating officer published stinging criticism of the proposal and his leadership style in a statement to the AP. The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, was fired last week.

Caribbean member federations are seen as potential supporters for Infantino to peel away from their CONCACAF leadership. South American body CONMEBOL has backed Infantino as its best path to hosting more games at the 2030 World Cup it wants expanded from 48 teams to 64.

The FIFA leader has not taken questions publicly since the $20bn FFE project was revealed on July 28 by British daily The Times, and on Friday in Punta Cana he evaded a reporter from British broadcaster Sky News.

Asked by Sky reporter James Matthews whether he had betrayed the sport and should resign, Infantino said, “Thank you so much”, and made quips about both men being bald.

Infantino is aiming to be re-elected for a fourth and final term in office through 2031 at the FIFA election congress next March in Rabat, Morocco. FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for would-be candidates to enter the race.

Fifa’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour has been sacked by the governing body, less than three weeks after he strongly criticised its president Gianni Infantino’s aborted plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors, BBC Sport has been told.

In a statement, a Fifa spokesperson would only confirm that “the working relationship between Fifa and Kevin Lamour as Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026.

“Fifa thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future.”

Fifa’s staff were informed of the news in an email by its secretary general Mattias Grafstrom on Monday evening, who told them the organisation and Lamour had “agreed to part ways”.

Last month, Lamour described the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plans as “the project of one person”, and said “the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions”.

He added Fifa’s own administration was “deceived” about the now abandoned project.

“Our mission – the mission of the hundreds of passionate, dedicated, and exemplary Fifa employees – is to serve football”, he added.

“A president must bring people together, unite them, and inspire them. Today, we are experiencing the opposite.”

Lamour acknowledged he had a duty of loyalty to his employer but also to “certain values” and supporting his colleagues.

“If that means I lose my job, then so be it,” he added. “I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”

Lamour joined Fifa in November 2024, having previously served as deputy general secretary at Uefa, and was two layers of management below Infantino.

Earlier this month, Infantino received the backing of senior executives in a meeting in Morocco, but BBC Sport was told Lamour was not invited.

Lamour has been approached for comment.

In a letter sent to members of Fifa’s Council, and seen by BBC Sport, Grafstrom wrote: “I would like to provide you with an important update regarding a change within the Fifa Administration.

“Following recent discussions, Fifa and our Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour have agreed to part ways. This decision was made after careful consideration and with great respect for Kevin, both personally and professionally… I felt it was important that I personally provide you this update and I would like to express my gratitude to Kevin for these contributions and for his work and commitment on behalf of Fifa on a daily basis. I wish Kevin all the best for the future.”

FairSquare says the FIFA president should not be able to run again under the world football organisation’s statutes.

Human rights organisation FairSquare has urged FIFA to rule that Gianni Infantino is ineligible to seek another term as the football governing body’s president, arguing he ⁠has already served the maximum three terms permitted under the body’s statutes.

FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office. However, in 2022, Infantino successfully argued that his first spell in charge, which began when he was elected at an Extraordinary FIFA Congress ⁠in 2016 following Sepp Blatter’s resignation, should not count towards that limit because it completed an interrupted mandate.

In a letter sent to FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) as reported by The Athletic, FairSquare said that interpretation was inconsistent with FIFA statutes.

“The complaint we have filed provides clear evidence that this is a clear breach of the rules and one that sets a very dangerous precedent,” FairSquare’s ‌Director Nicholas McGeehan told the Reuters news agency.

“The rules state clearly that three presidential terms is the maximum allowed; FIFA can’t simply circumvent this rule – which serves as a check on presidential power – by saying that his first term doesn’t count.”

Infantino is facing mounting scrutiny ahead of next year’s FIFA Congress, where he is expected to seek re-election for the 2027-31 cycle. The vote is scheduled to take place in Morocco on March 18.

Last week, UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF called for a review of Infantino’s conduct after FIFA proposed creating a $20bn subsidiary linked to its competitions, including the World Cup, to ⁠attract private investment. Sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that the three confederations viewed the letter ⁠as an opportunity for Infantino to quit with his dignity intact.

Several national associations have also voiced concerns. Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell told the BBC on Monday that his federation would not support Infantino’s re-election.

Infantino, however, retains the backing of the African and South American confederations.

Questions over transparency

FairSquare also questioned the transparency of the 2022 ruling, saying the committee’s reasoning had never been made public.

“The fact they didn’t provide any reasoning to support this ⁠claim, and that they announced the apparent decision two days before the final of ⁠the Qatar 2022 World Cup, suggests that they knew full well that there was no basis to discount Infantino’s first term,” McGeehan said.

The letter to the GACC was drafted with assistance from Miguel Maduro, the former head of FIFA’s independent Governance and Review Committee, who said the governing body could not disregard its ‌own rules.

“The principle of term limits was a fundamental aspect of the 2016 reform aimed at limiting power and the rule introduced is clear: no FIFA president can serve more than three terms of office,” Maduro said in a statement.

“Trying to carve ‌out ‌an exception to such a rule for Mr Infantino reveals both a resistance to the principle of term limits and how some at FIFA conceive of rules not as rules but as obstacles to be circumvented.”

Andrew Giuliani, son of ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, tells critics of FIFA’s Gianni Infantino ‘it’s just politics’.

Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and executive director of the White House Task Force for the recently completed World Cup, has voiced his support for embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling his critics jealous.

Infantino has faced ⁠widespread criticism over his plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors. He quashed the idea in late July amid the outrage, but the plan has nonetheless cost him support for his re-election bid next year.

Among those who have voiced their displeasure with Infantino or announced their refusal to back his re-election are UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), plus ‌the football federations of England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and New Zealand.

Giuliani said politics and pettiness are the true reasons behind the outcry.

“It’s politics. I’ve seen this before,” Giuliani told The Athletic. “I’ve seen it before when they’ve targeted President Trump from a political perspective. I’ve seen it before when they’ve targeted other people.

“People are jealous when people are very ⁠high achievers – and what Gianni Infantino has done for FIFA ⁠is he’s taken them to a whole new level that probably they didn’t think was possible.”

Infantino’s plan was to sell approximately 20% of a proposed new entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), focused on ⁠the commercial and operational facets of the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments.

Among the investors in FFE was to ⁠be Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared ⁠Kushner and part of the group that recently agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Look, we are all human beings, and I think it’s one of those things where sport has become ‌monetised and commercialised,” Giuliani added.

“I would just say that you have got to look at Gianni’s full body of work and to also realise that he’s always ‌trying ‌to improve his organisation, and I think that’s the thing … I would look at the body of work and say this is the guy I would want leading.”

Oceania have offered support to Gianni Infantino, but New Zealand have gone against their own confederation in FIFA row.

New Zealand has become the latest nation to withdraw its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s re-election bid over his aborted commercial rights stake sale plan, while Oceania’s confederation cautiously backed the ⁠governing body’s leadership.

Infantino has faced open revolt after three confederations – Europe’s UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean) – called for a review of his leadership and attacked his conduct over the plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions.

Infantino will seek re-election for a fourth term in ⁠charge of the global governing body at the FIFA Congress next year, with the African and South American confederations declaring their continued support.

New Zealand, the only Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) nation to qualify for this year’s World Cup, said on Friday it had withdrawn support for Infantino and that the review of the stake sale proposal should be independent due to a loss of confidence and trust in FIFA’s leadership.

“We’ve called for an independent review specifically because what we don’t ‌want to see is a sort of in-house quick washover of this,” New Zealand Football (NZF) Chief Executive Andrew Pragnell told the Reuters news agency.

“An independent review is something else that has been called for by other confederations that will help restore some of the trust.”

The OFC said in a statement that it welcomed FIFA’s decision to withdraw the proposal and that football in the Oceania region had grown under the current FIFA leadership.

“OFC recognises the progress achieved over the last decade in advancing football development in Oceania under FIFA’s leadership and encourages FIFA to use the review as an opportunity to identify and implement any changes that may be necessary,” it added.

What allies does Infantino have?

Swiss Infantino had proposed carving off ⁠the commercial rights to the World Cup and selling 20 percent to private investors to raise about $4.2bn before ⁠a U-turn following the furore.

The proposal came with a $20m grant for member associations for the next funding cycle, an amount that could have been doubled if they signed the deal.

Following a crisis meeting in Morocco last week, FIFA apologised to its 211 member associations for mistakes in the handling of the proposal and said its leadership had ⁠full support for Infantino.

Despite the opposition of the three confederations, which represent 136 of the 211 member associations who will vote in the FIFA presidential election in March, Infantino still has plenty of allies in the game.

Six ⁠heads of Arab national football associations, including Qatar and 2030 World Cup cohost Morocco, firmly ⁠backed him on Thursday, saying they appreciated his “sustained efforts to advance football globally”.

The Confederation of African Football’s executive committee also unanimously confirmed its support for Infantino, though, there is no guarantee of a bloc vote from all 54 members.

Pragnell said an independent review into the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal needed to shed light on decision-making and oversight at FIFA.

It should ‌also identify who was involved in the plan for Thrive Capital, a firm with close familial links to US President Donald Trump, to play a leading role in the venture.

“I think the scope needs to be considered really carefully, but what’s most important is that all confederations should agree ‌on ‌the scope, and it needs to get under way with urgency,” Pragnell told Reuters.

AFC member Australia has also called for an independent review alongside the Asian bloc, without publicly expressing a position on Infantino’s leadership.

“Based on what we’ve seen, including [Australia’s] commitment to the AFC statement, we’re strongly aligned,” Pragnell said.

Three confederations release letter criticising FIFA’s president over his proposal to sell off stakes in the World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has come under renewed fire as a joint letter from three confederations – UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC – declared that football “belongs to no individual”.

Infantino has received scathing criticism ever since launching, and then withdrawing within days, a plan to bring in private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.

FIFA had hit back on Saturday, claiming “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” football’s governing body and Infantino.

However, Monday’s letter from the governing bodies of European football (UEFA), North and Central America (CONCACAF) and Asia (AFC), showed his critics were unbowed.

“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held,” they wrote.

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the confederations added.

The three confederations called for a fully ⁠independent review into the stake sale proposal.

“Football’s strength has ⁠always been its unity,” the statement concluded. “We call for that unity to ‌be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not ‌seeks ‌to command it.”

They also criticised a FIFA emergency meeting in Morocco last week, saying there was only one elected official present, while also calling for an independent review which FIFA would have ⁠no role in, to determine what led to this “profound failure of judgement”.

On Friday, Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) President ⁠Lise Klaveness, seen by some as a potential candidate to replace Infantino, called on the 56-year-old to step down from the presidency immediately. Klaveness has long been an outspoken critic of Infantino.

After quelling in-house dissent at the emergency meeting on Wednesday, FIFA apologised to the 211 federations and Infantino rallied his support among the six confederations that ⁠make up the world governing body.

Africa’s confederation CAF released a statement on behalf of its 54 members backing Infantino on Thursday, with CONCACAF member Mexico following suit along with South American countries Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia.

On Friday, as Infantino attended the inauguration of Colombia’s new President Abelardo De La Espriella ⁠in Cali, FIFA released a blistering attack on the president’s critics, saying attempts to challenge his leadership must follow the governing body’s statutes and democratic procedures.

FIFA also echoed the statements of several of the bodies that supported Infantino, as well as one from South American confederation CONMEBOL.

FIFA’s ‌statement came after reports by The Daily Telegraph about payments made by UEFA to a former employee during Infantino’s time as the European governing body’s general secretary, allegations he has denied and that FIFA has rejected as unfounded.

Almost 70 of FIFA’s 211-member associations have said publicly they will ‌vote ‌for Infantino, with about a dozen either withdrawing previously promised support or saying they will not vote for him.

UEFA apart, the confederations that say they have lost confidence in Infantino are not completely united, with several Asian nations backing him as well as Mexico from CONCACAF.

Statement comes after Infantino denies claims that UEFA paid off his alleged lover while he was the body’s general secretary.

FIFA warns against what ‌it calls a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine President Gianni Infantino, saying attempts to challenge his ⁠leadership must follow the ⁠governing body’s statutes and democratic procedures.

The statement on Saturday came amid an increasingly bitter standoff over Infantino’s leadership following the collapse of his proposal to raise about $4.2bn by selling a stake ⁠in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments.

The plan triggered criticism from UEFA, national associations and senior FIFA officials; led to calls for Infantino to resign; and prompted a crisis meeting in Morocco ⁠this past week, at which FIFA’s leadership reaffirmed its support for the president.

FIFA did not identify those it said were seeking to undermine Infantino or specify which reports or allegations it was referring to.

The statement followed reports by The Daily Telegraph about payments made by UEFA to a former employee with whom the newspaper said Infantino was having an intimate relationship during his time as the European governing body’s ‌general secretary.

He has denied those allegations, and FIFA has rejected them as unfounded.

When contacted by the AFP news agency, UEFA acknowledged that “a departure payment was made to the individual in question” at that time, “coupled with the payment of fees for an MBA course at a local business school”.

FIFA said recent reporting has included “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims” concerning FIFA and its president, adding that it would challenge inaccurate or misleading reports “directly and vigorously”.

FIFA added it would not support, facilitate or tolerate any process concerning the election of its president ⁠that was inconsistent with its statutes, democratic procedures and governance framework.

“The FIFA president ⁠was democratically elected by FIFA’s member associations and continues to serve with their mandate,” it said.

“Those who do not have the support of FIFA’s Member Associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA’s established democratic processes,” FIFA said.

FIFA split over Infantino

After the crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, FIFA apologised to its 211 member associations for mistakes in the handling of the proposed World Cup spinoff and said its leadership had ⁠reaffirmed its full support for Infantino.

The fallout has cast a shadow over Infantino’s bid for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March. ⁠No clear candidate to challenge him has yet emerged.

UEFA has said it no longer has confidence in Infantino while Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness called on Friday for him to resign, saying he no longer had the institutional trust required to govern FIFA.

But Infantino continues to enjoy substantial support among FIFA’s 211 ‌members. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) unanimously backed his leadership on Thursday while South America’s CONMEBOL rejected any attempt to oust him that did not involve a vote of all FIFA members.

Mexico’s football federation (FMF) also backed ‌Infantino ‌despite its regional confederation, CONCACAF, having called for a “comprehensive reckoning” with his presidency.

“The FMF will neither recognise nor approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework,” the Mexican federation said.

Fifa has strongly criticised what it calls a “concerted and ongoing effort” to “undermine” the organisation and its president Gianni Infantino.

The statement follows a Daily Telegraph report, external which claimed Infantino’s alleged lover was given a severance payment by Uefa after he had an affair while he was its general secretary.

Fifa hit out at “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims”, adding that “speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact”.

Infantino has come under increasing pressure from Uefa and European football associations over his aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.

FFE would have meant a new company being created to manage commercial and ticketing rights, with 21% sold off to a private investment company.

Uefa has said it has lost confidence in Infantino, while Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) president Lise Klaveness on Friday called on the Swiss-Italian to resign.

European football’s governing body says its threat to boycott Fifa events remains on the table, adding that certain conditions have not been met.

“The Fifa President was democratically elected by Fifa’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate,” Fifa said in its statement on Saturday.

“It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine Fifa and its president.

“Those who do not have the support of Fifa’s member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through Fifa’s established democratic processes.”

Opposition to Infantino is largely from within Europe.

The Mexican Football Federation broke ranks with its regional governing body Concacaf to come out in support of Infantino.

It echoed a statement from Conmebol – South America’s governing body – in saying it would reject any attempt to remove Infantino without a vote involving all 211 Fifa member countries.

Infantino is also unanimously backed by the 54 nations of the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

Gianni Infantino’s alleged lover was given a severance payment over the affair by Uefa while he was its general secretary, according to a Daily Telegraph investigation, external.

A spokesman for the now Fifa president was reported to have told the paper Infantino “strongly denies these categorically untrue allegations”.

Uefa, for whom Infantino was general secretary from 2009 to 2016, issued a statement confirming “a departure payment was made to the individual in question”.

The allegations come as Infantino fights for his future as Fifa president following his aborted plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

BBC Sport has contacted Fifa and Infantino for comment.

The Telegraph reported that Uefa paid a six-figure sum to the woman, who had an alleged relationship with Infantino, who is married, during his time at European football’s governing body.

“Fifa president Gianni Infantino strongly denies these allegations, and they are categorically untrue. Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct or violation of statutes or regulations is defamatory,” a Fifa spokesman told the Telegraph.

“No employee at Uefa and Fifa has ever raised a complaint regarding Mr Infantino’s behaviour because there never was an incident where he was involved.”

Uefa confirmed a payment was made to the woman in question and that it covered the fees for her to complete an MBA course at a local business school.

It said all payments were in line with regulations at the time, but those regulations have since been tightened and “reflect those found in a modern, high-profile organisation”.

A cavalcade of blacked out Mercedes, flanked by police cars, rolled into the Fifa headquarters in Rabat, Morocco, earlier this week.

Infantino had summoned a select few members of the Fifa management board to discuss his plan to sell off 21% of the commercial and ticketing business to a private equity firm.

This is how the Swiss-Italian travels – in between flights on the Qatar Airways Executive jet which has been made available to him. The plane enabled him to take up to three flights a day, watching two games, throughout the 2026 World Cup.

That type of arrival does look presidential – only more like a president of a country than a sports body.

It enables him to travel the globe, visiting Fifa’s official offices like Rabat, where he was based over the past week as the Fifa Forward Enterprise controversy developed.

In his role Infantino is expected to visit the 211 member nations, to see the grassroots projects Fifa has funded.

Part of his remit is to unify football, which cannot be achieved from within the Fifa headquarters in Zurich.

It requires international travel to attend confederation meetings, and the global tournaments Fifa organises. Infantino needs to build relationships with officials and politicians.

In April, before the Fifa Congress in Vancouver, local authorities rejected a request for a level-four motorcade, usually reserved for heads of state or the Pope.

New Zealand police said they had declined a similar request during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Alongside the cavalcade of cars and the private charter flights comes a large salary, too, three times what he first earned when elected in 2016.

Infantino, who was paid about £1.3m 10 years ago, now takes home about £4m – a base salary of £2.2m plus a confirmed variable bonus payment of £1.8m.

His predecessor Sepp Blatter was paid a £2.6m package for his final year as Fifa president.

Infantino gets a ‘per diem’ too to cover expenses and living costs, worth £20,500 a year on top of his salary.

As the head of the most popular sport in the world, it should be expected that there is a wage to match.

Infantino would argue that by driving record revenues and funding for member associations, he has proven he is worth the salary.

Uefa is in something of a pickle as it tries to get rid of Infantino.

The easiest route to success was the slow turning of the vice throughout this week, hoping to exert enough pressure to force him to quit.

Yet the Swiss appears to have no intention of walking away.

European football looks like an outlier, struggling to gain enough support to topple him.

On Thursday, Lamin Kaba Bajo, the president of the Gambia Football Federation, praised Infantino’s “courage” and for the U-turn, and said he was “willing to give him my support more than ever”.

Only Jordan, one of the few countries which did not back Infantino before last week, has publicly stated it will not vote for his re-election in March.

Concacaf is the only other confederation to issue a public statement after the proposal was aborted but, unlike Uefa, it did not go as far as to say it had lost confidence in the Fifa president.

Conmebol, the South American confederation, said on Thursday it would not support “any action or procedure that disregards” Fifa’s mechanisms before the presidential election.

Ideally, Uefa would force an emergency meeting of the Fifa Council, to provide what it would consider to be a true chance to hold Infantino to account.

But getting the necessary 19 of 36 confederation and football association heads to support it has proven to be exceptionally difficult.

Uefa has also kept on the table the option of a vote of no confidence, which it can trigger via an extraordinary congress any time it wishes.

However, it would need a majority of Fifa’s 211 member associations – 106 votes – to pass the motion. It would be a de facto presidential election without a second candidate.

If Uefa does not think it can get to 106, which looks a stretch, then there is little point in triggering the vote.

The other option is to try to find a unity candidate to stand against Infantino in the election next March. The favourite would be Concacaf president Victor Montagliani.

Any option which takes time gives Infantino space to build bridges, and with Fifa due to announce new funding to member associations by the end of the year he could dangle another carrot for his re-election.

Unless Uefa sticks by the nuclear option – and goes through with its threat of a boycott.

This has issues, and it is not a lever you can pull very often, otherwise it gives the impression of riding roughshod over the rest of the world.

It is one thing use it to jettison the FFE proposal, another entirely to effectively dethrone the president with it.

Uefa’s stance will soon be tested, with the Fifa Women’s U20s World Cup kicking off in Poland on 5 September. Six European countries are due to take part, including England.

FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino gets the support of executive members at an emergency meeting in Morocco after his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup. But, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country co-hosted this year’s event, says he’s lost faith in Infantino.

Wales have become the first nation to publicly withdraw backing for Gianni Infantino’s bid to continue his leadership of Fifa.

It follows the loss of confidence in the Fifa president following his scrapped plans to sell stakes in its competitions to private investment firms.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has confirmed “its withdrawal of support for the candidature of Mr Gianni Infantino for re-election as Fifa president for the 2027-2031 term”.

Infantino’s lucrative plan sparked a global outcry, with European football’s governing body Uefa threatening to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup.

Uefa and Concacaf – which oversees football in North, Central America and the Caribbean – both released statements on Saturday criticising the leadership of the world governing body following Infantino’s decision to withdraw the plan.

The FAW added: “The recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement have led us to a position where Mr Infantino has lost the confidence of the FAW to remain at the helm of world football.

“Failing to put the best interests of football first is a failure we cannot accept.”

FIFA’s Gianni Infantino has scrapped his controversial plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors after global outrage. The FIFA president is up for re-election next year, so why is no one running against him? Soraya Lennie unpacks the details.

The quickest route for Infantino’s exit would be for the Swiss to resign, like his predecessor Sepp Blatter did in 2015.

But Infantino still retains support and he could try to hold out until March, when he is up for re-election for a fourth and final term as president.

What other avenues are open?

The Fifa Council could try to force Infantino’s hand through an emergency meeting.

Such a gathering would be triggered if 19 of the 37 Fifa Council members call for one.

Uefa has nine members, AFC has seven, Concacaf five, Africa has six, Conmebol five and Oceania three. It is completed by Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom.

BBC Sport understands there are some doubts that the 19 votes could be achieved.

If they do get to 19, the meeting must take place within two weeks and the Fifa Council could call on Infantino to tender his resignation. But he could simply refuse to do so.

It would, however, add further pressure.

The next step would be an extraordinary congress of the 211 Fifa member associations, which would be held if one-fifth, or 43 associations, “make such a request in writing”.

So Uefa, which has 55 nations, can trigger the extraordinary congress whenever it so wishes.

That would take a minimum of two months from the point it is triggered, but more likely three months, and there is no guarantee of success.

In effect, it would be a de facto election without there being another candidate as 106 votes would be needed to pass the vote of no confidence.

Uefa has 55, Africa 54, Asia 46, Concacaf 35, Oceania 11 and Conmebol 10.

Africa, Conmebol and Oceania have not criticised Infantino’s plan.

So could Uefa get to 106? In total, 136 countries officially rejected the investment plan, but voting to reject an idea is not the same as voting to kick Infantino out.

Of the 136, Qatar have already publicly backed him and Mexico have distanced themselves from the joint Concacaf statement.

Which leaves finding a suitable candidate to fight the election in March.

Infantino stood unopposed when he was re-elected in 2019 and 2023 and if someone wants to battle him for the position, the deadline to announce their candidacy is 18 November.

Asian Football Confederation says FIFA future must be ‘shaped through proper consultation’ after World Cup plan fallout.

Asian Football ‌Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has ⁠welcomed FIFA’s ⁠decision to walk back plans to sell a stake in the World Cup and stressed the need ⁠to discuss all such moves with transparency in the future.

FIFA’s plan was to raise up to $4.2bn by ⁠selling about a 20 percent stake to private investors in a new unit that would run FIFA events, including the World Cup.

The proposal, first announced on Tuesday, had faced a storm of ‌opposition from regional confederations, including the AFC, which said they were blindsided by the announcement.

Following the backlash, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said world football’s governing body had scrapped the plans after listening “carefully to all the views”.

In a letter posted on the AFC’s website on Saturday, Sheikh Salman ⁠said he expects “any initiative that has the ⁠potential to impact global football will be presented and discussed with the Confederations, the FIFA Council, Member Associations and other stakeholders in a timely, ⁠transparent and meaningful manner”.

“The future of global football must always be shaped through proper ⁠consultation, collective dialogue and respect for ⁠the established governance structures of our game,” he said.

On Thursday, Sheikh Salman, in a letter to member associations, had said the way the FIFA proposal had been made was “totally unacceptable“.

The Kuala Lumpur-based AFC is one of FIFA’s six confederations and is responsible for running ‌regional ‌club and national team competitions across continental Asia, the Middle East and Australia.

Gianni Infantino looked every bit the “King of Football”, as US President Donald Trump likes to call him, when the two allies sat together watching the World Cup final less than two weeks ago.

Sure, there were some boos inside MetLife Stadium near New York when the two men walked across the turf to present the trophy and medals to Spain and Argentina players on July 19.

Still, that 104th and final game capped the biggest-ever tournament seen as a vindication for the FIFA president – a consensus success on the field and a financial bonanza for global football. Infantino could look ahead to his likely re-election coronation next March.

The sunny scene must now feel an age ago since Infantino caused a seismic rift in global football.

The intensifying fallout has threatened the 56-year-old Infantino’s job after he seemed untouchable until this week.

Did Infantino have any choice but to abandon FIFA World Cup investment plan?

Infantino’s misstep was inviting private investors, led by Joshua Kushner, to buy a stake in future profits from World Cups and all FIFA events. The ensuing backlash – which included pledges by European nations to boycott FIFA events and claims from senior staff that Infantino deceived everyone – led Infantino to announce Friday that he was abandoning the plan.

“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he said in a statement.

Infantino left New York City last week with letters pledging election support from about 200 of FIFA’s 211 national member federations who vote for their leader every four years.

Now, even after scrapping his divisive investment project, his support remains unclear at best.

What would the private investment plan have done to for FIFA?

Infantino’s proposal would have created a subsidiary – known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) – for the money-making parts of the not-for-profit football body’s work: running tournaments like the World Cup, selling broadcasting and sponsorship, tickets and hospitality.

Private equity and petrostate sovereign wealth money has been normalised in European club football, yet it still seems unthinkable to many observers in the context of the World Cup. Football’s ultimate prize is seen as being about glory, not money, and fans have long believed it belongs to them.

FIFA proposed raising $4.2bn from investors buying a stake of about 20 percent in FFE, based on an equity valuation of $20bn. The “anchor investor” would have been Thrive Eternal, launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of Trump.

FIFA’s 211 member federations – already effectively the owners of the governing body as a nonprofit association under Swiss law – were offered $20m each. The deadline to accept was September 19.

The members already are due $10m each from FIFA over the next four years, funded largely by its record $15bn revenue over 2023-26 tied to the World Cup that just ended.

FIFA says under FFE, that would have doubled to $20m each, then rise to $22m each through 2034, and $24m to 2038.

That’s a huge sum for tiny football federations in places like Andorra, Montserrat and Papua New Guinea. Deep-pocketed football powers like England, Spain or France have other priorities.

Who were the main opponents of Infantino’s plan for FIFA and World Cups?

Some FIFA vice presidents, some of its top executives, all the European football federations, the football bodies of Asia and North America, Britain’s prime minister, the global group of national leagues, a lot of fans worldwide.

Essentially, everyone.

Infantino was looking increasingly friendless on Friday. His senior adviser, former Goldman Sachs banker Carlos Cordeiro, resigned and called it a bad deal. FIFA chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, gave a stinging statement to The Associated Press news agency in defence of colleagues that all but invited his boss to fire him.

A key move Thursday was European football body UEFA pledging to boycott all FIFA competitions until Infantino dropped the plan.

Europe’s teams routinely dominate and win FIFA trophies like the men’s World Cup and Club World Cup, which are its biggest revenue earners.

They collectively feared that private investors would seek – and demand – value from more games and bigger competitions that threaten the balance of global football.

That could jeopardise attention and revenues for club football, including the UEFA Champions League.

Fixture calendars are already congested, elite players are at their limits, broadcast and sponsor money is not unlimited.

All are angry that Infantino seems not to have consulted anyone while planning the project over the last year, when he was so focused on spending time in Trump’s orbit. Even Trump said Friday he had not spoken with the FIFA chief on his plan to sell stakes in the tournament.

Did Infantino have any support for his plans for FIFA and World Cups?

Infantino’s traditional support base in Africa, which has 54 of the 211 voting members, had been neutral about the offers of game-changing money for many of them.

The 10-nation South American group CONMEBOL said on Friday it had received the proposal and would evaluate the issue “with the rigour it demands”. CONMEBOL is led by FIFA’s vice president, Alejandro Dominguez of Paraguay, who is relying on Infantino expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams.

That would give more games to minority cohosts Argentina, Paraguay and inaugural 1930 World Cup host Uruguay, who currently are set to get just one game each of the 104. The rest are in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

What happens now for Infantino in his role as FIFA president?

The UEFA-led resistance succeeded in stopping the sell-off plan. Will that satisfy Infantino’s opponents to allow him to remain in office?

Does Infantino have the credibility to stay in office after interventions Friday by Lamour and Cordeiro that surely would make most presidencies untenable?

November 18 is the deadline for candidates to enter the next presidential contest, exactly four months ahead of the March 19 vote in Rabat, Morocco, where FIFA has its African headquarters.

Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 in Paris and 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda. FIFA statutes allow him one more four-year term in office.

The FFE spinoff seemed a way to create a commissioner-like role for Infantino beyond 2031, likely paying much more than his current annual salary and bonus deal of more than $6m.

It would take 106 votes to ensure a majority in a contested election. Continents surely do not vote uniformly en bloc, but most of Europe’s 55, plus CONCACAF’s 35 and Asia’s 46 would be a solid base.

Speculation on a likely direct challenger typically lands on Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the Canadian FIFA vice president, Victor Montagliani.

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC’s longtime president from Bahrain, narrowly lost the FIFA presidential election to Infantino in 2016, so may decide to run again.

All such talk seemed fanciful until this week, despite long-term unease with Infantino’s style and previous attempts to force through unpopular projects.

The talk has never seemed more likely to become action.