Internal rebellion: FIFA employees spring a surprise and demand Infantino's replacement

FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, is enduring an unprecedented period of turmoil since the end of the 2026 World Cup. Nothing captured this more clearly than the collapse of the ambitious commercial company president Gianni Infantino had been counting on to generate huge financial revenues, a failure that has pushed a number of the organisation's employees to publicly demand a change of leadership at the top.

France's RMC Sport revealed exclusive testimonies in an investigative report published today, Monday. A number of FIFA employees, who requested anonymity to protect their jobs, expressed deep concern about the situation facing the world's largest sporting body amid the fallout from the failed commercial project first exposed by Britain's The Times.

The reality of the crisis

Staff on fixed salaries and freelancers alike are following this troubled situation with great concern. They were the unsung heroes who delivered the 2026 World Cup on schedule and with great success, overcoming enormous logistical challenges at a tournament staged across three countries, the United States, Mexico and Canada, for the first time in the competition's history.

Scattered across the world to cover the organisation's diverse activities, and manning offices on many continents, these employees watched with deep concern as The Times revealed FIFA's proposed commercial project and the major media and political uproar that followed at home and abroad.

The scale of the internal crisis

RMC Sport gathered exclusive testimonies from a large number of employees, all on condition of anonymity to protect their jobs and professional futures. The aim was to survey opinion inside the world's largest sporting body and understand the true scale of the crisis rocking the federation.

Those testimonies laid bare widespread dissatisfaction with Infantino's administration. The anger sharpened after the failure of the commercial project that was supposed to generate huge financial revenues, but which turned into an administrative and financial scandal and provoked sharp criticism from the continental and national federations.

Public demands for a change of leadership

Some employees have gone further, openly demanding a change of leadership. They believe Infantino has lost his compass for sound management, taking individual decisions without consulting the relevant bodies inside the organisation and triggering a run of failures.

One senior FIFA employee put it bluntly: "the current situation cannot continue in this way, as the organisation is going through a real crisis of confidence, and the employees who sacrificed their time and effort to make the World Cup a success feel deeply frustrated by the way matters are currently being managed".

Failure of the commercial project ignites the crisis

All of this internal turmoil flows from the collapse of the commercial company Infantino had hoped would generate huge financial revenues by exploiting FIFA's brand across various commercial projects. The plan met fierce opposition from the continental and national federations, and it now stands temporarily frozen.

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