Gianni Infantino’s grip on the Fifa presidency is weakening after his attempt to privatise the World Cup backfired, triggering a wave of defections from European football’s governing bodies and national associations. The Swiss-Italian’s plan to sell minority stakes in future World Cups to private investors collapsed under scrutiny, exposing fractures in his leadership that had previously gone unchallenged. With just over two years until the next election, the exodus of support—led by Uefa, the English FA, and the Football Association of Wales—has turned the race into a genuine contest for the first time in Infantino’s decade in power.
Where Infantino’s support is crumbling
Uefa has taken the most decisive stance, maintaining its boycott of Fifa competitions while demanding guarantees that privatisation attempts will never recur. The confederation’s stance was reinforced by the English FA, which sent a formal letter to Fifa withdrawing its endorsement for Infantino’s 2027 re-election. The FA cited “deep concern” over the “lack of process and governance” surrounding the World Cup sell-off, signalling that Infantino’s apology failed to restore confidence. Wales followed suit shortly after, with the Football Association of Wales declaring that “recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgment” had eroded trust in the president.
The global players’ union, Fifpro, escalated the pressure by accusing Infantino of “profound abuse of presidential power” in a public statement that amplified the institutional backlash. While the boycott’s immediate impact remains limited—France’s federation has indicated it will still compete at the upcoming U20 Women’s World Cup—the symbolic defiance from Europe’s most influential voices has exposed Infantino’s vulnerability. The domino effect is spreading: multiple European member associations have now distanced themselves from the Fifa president, framing the privatisation bid as a breach of trust rather than a misstep. BBC Sport reported that at least five additional national associations are reviewing their positions, with sources suggesting further withdrawals could be announced before Fifa’s next executive committee meeting on 10 October.
Who still backs Infantino—and why
Despite the growing opposition, Infantino retains key allies, particularly in regions where his financial influence and political alliances have shielded him from criticism. Mexico and Argentina have publicly reaffirmed their support, while Caf, the African football governing body, remains a steadfast backer. These confederations have historically benefited from Fifa’s expanded funding under Infantino’s leadership, which has prioritised development projects and infrastructure investments across Africa and Latin America. For Caf, the president’s commitment to expanding the World Cup to 48 teams—with nine additional slots allocated to African nations—has outweighed governance concerns. Caf’s statement explicitly linked its endorsement to “unprecedented financial support for African football,” including a $1 billion investment in youth academies and competitions over the next four years.
The divide reflects broader geopolitical tensions within world football. European federations, long sceptical of Infantino’s centralising tendencies, now see an opportunity to reclaim influence over Fifa’s decision-making. Meanwhile, smaller confederations, particularly in Africa and Asia, view the privatisation debacle as a distraction from the financial benefits they’ve received under his presidency. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has yet to take a public stance, but sources within the organisation indicate that a majority of its members support Infantino’s re-election, citing his role in increasing the number of Asian teams at the World Cup from four in 2018 to eight in 2026.
The road to 2027: what happens next
The immediate test for Infantino’s opponents will be whether their boycott gains momentum beyond symbolic gestures. Uefa’s refusal to back down suggests a long-term strategy to force structural reforms, but the confederation’s own members may fracture if the political cost of non-participation grows. The French FA’s decision to defy the boycott for the U20 Women’s World Cup highlights the tension between principle and pragmatism—especially for nations that rely on Fifa’s financial distributions for grassroots and elite development. The French federation’s statement emphasised that its athletes “should not be penalised for the failures of Fifa’s leadership,” a nuance that could encourage other Uefa members to follow suit.
For Infantino, the path forward depends on two factors: shoring up support in Africa, Asia, and CONCACAF, where his financial and developmental promises still resonate, and neutralising European dissent before it solidifies into a coordinated challenge. His allies in Caf and Latin America will be crucial in countering Uefa’s campaign, but the privatisation scandal has already damaged his reputation as an infallible consensus-builder. If more federations follow England and Wales in withdrawing support, Infantino may face a primary challenge or a fractured electoral process in 2027—something unthinkable in his first two terms. Conmebol’s recent statement reaffirming its backing for the Fifa president underscores the regional divide, with South American federations arguing that “the focus should remain on football development, not political infighting.”
The crisis has also exposed the fragility of Fifa’s governance model. The privatisation scheme’s collapse was not just a policy failure but a failure of internal oversight, raising questions about who within Fifa’s hierarchy greenlit such a high-risk venture. With Fifpro’s intervention and Uefa’s boycott, the episode has become a referendum on Infantino’s leadership style: a blend of charismatic diplomacy and opaque decision-making that once unified football’s fractured stakeholders but now risks tearing them apart. Fifpro’s statement specifically criticised the “lack of transparency” in how the privatisation plan was formulated, alleging that key stakeholders were excluded from the decision-making process.
The coming months will determine whether Infantino can regain the initiative or if his presidency enters its final act. One thing is clear: the era of unchallenged authority in world football is over. The next Fifa Congress, scheduled for March 2025 in Singapore, will be the first major test of whether Infantino’s opponents can translate their opposition into a viable electoral threat—or if the president’s alliances in the Global South can insulate him from further defections.
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