The Fifa family: which confederations could support Infantino or turn against him?
Fifa president Gianni Infantino faces mounting pressure after a bungled plan to sell off World Cup commercial rights, with several confederations withdrawing support ahead of a possible leadership challenge. Uefa has led the push against him, threatening to boycott Fifa competitions and declaring that his leadership has lost the confidence of "many other members of the football family", while other confederations weigh whether to follow suit.
Uefa members including the English and Welsh FAs have withdrawn letters backing Infantino's re-election, and Concacaf, representing 41 associations, branded the World Cup sell-off scheme "a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first" and called for "a comprehensive reckoning" with his presidency. The AFC (Asia) has also criticised the plan and demanded reform, though it remains divided, with Gulf states such as Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia still backing Infantino and most individual Asian federations reluctant to see him replaced.
- Fifa's Gianni Infantino faces backlash over a failed World Cup rights sell-off plan.
- Uefa and Concacaf have strongly turned against his leadership.
- Asia's AFC is divided, with Gulf states still supportive of Infantino.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Infantino has delivered substantial reforms and modernisations since his election, including expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams and post-corruption governance improvements. The failed commercial scheme, whilst misjudged, represents a single initiative rather than grounds for removing a sitting president; withdrawing support based on one setback risks establishing a destabilising precedent for football governance. Significantly, major confederations including those from Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia continue backing him, suggesting support remains geographically broad. Rather than fracturing football's administration through a leadership challenge, these concerns could be addressed through enhanced oversight, reformed decision-making processes, and clearer alignment between administration and confederation interests.
The case against
The attempted World Cup commercial scheme reveals a fundamental misalignment between Infantino's priorities and football's core values, treating the sport's most prestigious tournament as a financial asset rather than a celebration of the game. The breadth of confederation opposition—from UEFA to Concacaf to significant parts of AFC—indicates widespread loss of confidence rather than isolated discontent. When multiple major continental federations representing billions of fans explicitly state he has stopped putting football first, this constitutes a serious governance crisis warranting leadership change. Waiting for incremental reforms postpones addressing a president whose vision for FIFA no longer aligns with what the confederation leadership believes the organisation should prioritise.