Infantino faces mounting pressure as leaders push for resignation

What's happened

Infantino is facing a leadership crisis as CONCACAF, UEFA and AFC push for his resignation amid a failed World Cup privatization plan. He is meeting Dominican officials while allies seek to rally support and counter moves to unseat him ahead of the March 2021 presidential election. FIFA has not commented on ongoing requests for change.

What's behind the headline?

Analysis

• Infantino’s leadership is under test as CONMEBAC and AFC align with UEFA to challenge his presidency.
• The plan to spin off FIFA’s commercial activities has triggered a governance crisis, with multiple confederations calling for accountability.
• This confrontation could accelerate move toward a new, jointly supported candidate and potentially reshape the organization’s leadership structure.
• Readers should watch for developing alliances in CONMEBAC and AFC, as well as potential moves toward a new international competition framework if leadership changes occur.

How we got here

The controversy surrounds Infantino’s attempts to privatize FIFA’s commercial activities via the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, which has sparked backlash across FIFA member bodies. Several confederations have moved to distance themselves and consider alternative leadership paths as pressure mounts ahead of the 2031 election cycle.

Our analysis

- Al Jazeera: Infantino is under pressure from UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF; sacking of COO Kevin Lamour; support from CONMEBOL. - BBC: Montagliani calls for Infantino to reconsider attendance; support from Dominican Republic officials. - Independent & The Guardian: reports on talks between UEFA and CONCACAF and potential new biennial tournament; Infantino's plan to privatize is contested.

Go deeper

• Will Infantino survive the leadership challenge?
• Which confederation could lead a new campaign against him?
• What impact could this have on the 2030 World Cup and future elections?

More on these topics

• Gianni Infantino - President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association

  Giovanni Vincenzo "Gianni" Infantino is a Swiss–Italian football administrator and the current president of FIFA. He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress on 26 February 2016.

• Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) - Football organization

  FIFA is a non-profit organization which describes itself as an international governing body of association football, fútsal, beach soccer, and efootball. It is the highest governing body of football.

• CONCACAF - International sport governing body

  The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( KONG-kə-kaf; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its.

• Dominican Republic - Country in the Caribbean

  The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region.

• Victor Montagliani - Canadian businessman

  Victor Montagliani is a Canadian businessman, soccer executive, and the president of CONCACAF. He is a member of the FIFA Council.

• Union of European Football Associations - League

  The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for association football, futsal and beach soccer in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia.

• Caribbean Football Union - The nominal governing body for association football in the Caribbean as well as Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

  The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is the representative organization for football associations in the Caribbean. It represents 25 FIFA member nations, as well as 6 territories that are not affiliated to FIFA. The Union was established in January 1978...

• Morocco - Country in North Africa

  Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with land borders with Algeria to the east and Western Sahara to th

• Rabat - Capital of Morocco

  Rabat (, also UK: , US: ; French: [ʁaba]; Arabic: الرِّبَاط‎, romanized: ar-ribāṭ; Berber languages: ⴰⵕⴱⴰⵟ, romanized: Aṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of

• Sky News - Television channel

  Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via a radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the head of Sky News, a role he has h

• Punta Cana - Town in the Dominican Republic

  Punta Cana is a resort town in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic. It is part of the Veron-Punta Cana municipal district, in the Higüey municipality of La Altagracia Province.

• Joshua Kushner - American businessman

  Joshua Kushner is an American businessman, heir and investor. He is the founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, co-founder of Oscar Health, and the son of billionaire real estate developer Charles Kushner.

• FIFA World Cup - Football competition

  The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the sport's global governin

• AFC - Wikimedia disambiguation page

  AFC may stand for:

• Dominican Football Federation - Governing body for association football in the Dominican Republic

  The Dominican Football Federation (Spanish: Federación Dominicana de Fútbol) is the governing body of football in the Dominican Republic.

• The Times - Newspaper

  The Times is a British daily national newspaper based in London, England. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register, adopting its current name on 1 January 1788.

• Qatar - Country in the Middle East

  Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

• Grenada - Country in the Caribbean

  Grenada is a sovereign state in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself plus six smaller islands which lie to the north of the main island.

• CONMEBOL - Sports association

  The South American Football Confederation is the continental governing body of football in South America, and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations.

• Mexico - Country in North America

  Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea

• Asian Football Confederation - Controlling body of football in Asia.

  AFC is one of the six confederations within FIFA and is the governing body of football in Asia and Australia. It has 47 member countries, most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in the OFC, joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006.