Norway joins calls for Infantino to resign at FIFA

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Norway joins calls for Infantino to resign at FIFA

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Pressure on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to resign has intensified, with Norway's football federation becoming the latest national body to demand he go and fresh allegations emerging about a payment to a former colleague. Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness said trust in Infantino was "gone" and there was "no way back" for him, while reports surfaced that a female employee who allegedly had a relationship with Infantino during his time as UEFA general secretary received a six-figure "departure payment"; FIFA has dismissed the misconduct allegations as "categorically untrue" and hit back at critics on Saturday.

The furore stems from Infantino's now-abandoned plan to sell a 21% stake in a new commercial division, FIFA Forward Enterprise, to investors led by Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital for $4.2 billion, which he scrapped on 31 July after fierce opposition. UEFA, which branded the scheme an attempt to sell football's "soul", is maintaining a boycott of FIFA tournaments despite the climbdown, a stance due to be tested at the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland from 5 September. Figures including Portuguese great Luis Figo, La Liga's Javier Tebas and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have all publicly called for Infantino's removal, coming just a month after the 2026 World Cup delivered FIFA record revenues of $15 billion.

  • Norway's football federation joins calls for Infantino's resignation
  • New allegations surface over a payment to a former UEFA colleague
  • UEFA maintains tournament boycott despite scrapped $4.2bn World Cup sale plan

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Norway joins calls for Infantino to resign at FIFA

Gianni Infantino has been president of FIFA, football's world governing body, since 2016. In recent weeks he has faced growing criticism over a plan to sell part of a new commercial arm of the organisation to outside investors for billions of dollars, a proposal he later dropped after opposition from within the sport.

Several national football federations, prominent former players, league officials and even a national government have since called on him to step down, arguing that trust in his leadership has been damaged. UEFA, the body that runs European football, has been particularly critical and has stopped taking part in some FIFA events in protest. FIFA itself has rejected the various allegations made against Infantino.

Both sides, in good faith

The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.

The case for

Those calling for Infantino's resignation argue that a football governing body must hold itself to the standards it demands of the game: transparency, accountability and clean governance. They point to the abandoned $4.2 billion stake sale, which even UEFA branded an attempt to sell the sport's "soul", as evidence of a leadership prioritising commercial deal-making over the interests of national federations and fans. Coupled with fresh allegations about a payment to a former colleague, critics such as Klaveness, Figo, Tebas and Carney contend that trust has been eroded to the point where continued leadership is untenable, regardless of FIFA's record World Cup revenues, and that stepping down is the only way to restore confidence in the institution.

The case against

Infantino's defenders would argue that FIFA's finances tell their own story: a record $15 billion in World Cup revenue reflects strong stewardship of the game's commercial growth, funding that flows back into global football development. They would note that the stake sale was ultimately scrapped in response to stakeholder concerns, which they might frame as evidence the governance system works rather than that it has failed, and that FIFA has firmly denied the misconduct allegations as categorically untrue, urging that unproven claims should not be treated as fact. From this perspective, a small group of vocal critics pressing for resignation should not override the mandate given to the president through FIFA's normal democratic processes, particularly while investigations and denials remain unresolved.

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