sale proposal dead, will FIFA chief Infantino be forced out now, or before the March 2027 elections?

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≡ CAN INFANTINO SURVIVE? ≡

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) confirmed in a Friday statement that the FIFA Forward Enterprise private-equity scheme “will not proceed,” recognizing that “it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.”

What has happened as a result of the implosion of this concept – which even brought public condemnation from the federation’s Chief Operating Officer – is that added to questions raised prior to and during the World Cup about Infantino’s close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, the forwarding of a request for a review of the red card handed to American striker Falorin Balogun and more … the question now is whether Infantino will be forced to resign.

Prior to the World Cup, he was a shoo-in for election to a third full term at the FIFA Congress on 18 March 2027 in Rabat (MAR). But the way the 2026 World Cup was handled has raised questions about the terms that can be agreed to for the 2031 and 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cups, to be awarded in a standalone, online Extraordinary FIFA Congress on 23 November 2026. Already, U.S. cities which are potential hosts for the 2031 event have balked at signing any binding commitments along the lines of those for the 2026 event, given high costs and meager opportunities for recovery.

The anger at Infantino has come quickly:

● Europe: UEFA noted in a Friday statement welcoming the withdrawal of the private-equity proposal:

“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of FIFA’s Member Associations to elect him as their President in 2016, he said, ‘Of course we have to be transparent. I have been this in the last 15 years of my life in UEFA. You will have to play a part every day in the life of FIFA,’ before telling the assembled stakeholders, ‘The money of FIFA is your money. It’s not the money of the FIFA President. It’s your money. You are the national associations and the money of FIFA has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else.’

“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent.”

● North-Central America & the Caribbean: CONCACAF also lashed out in its Saturday statement:

“The events of recent days have exposed something that cannot now be set aside: the future of the FIFA World Cup, the greatest asset in world football, was advanced outside every established governance framework, without transparency, consultation or due process.

“A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour. A comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative.”

● Asia: The Asian Football Confederation’s Friday statement included:

“While the immediate debate centres on FFE, the AFC considers this issue extends far beyond a single proposal. Rather, it has exposed fundamental weaknesses in FIFA’s consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed. While the AFC notes FIFA’s latest clarification on the proposal, the central concerns surrounding governance, institutional process and meaningful consultation remain unanswered. …

“This is not the first occasion where major stakeholders have been confronted with significant initiatives after the direction of travel appears to have already been determined. Such an approach undermines confidence in FIFA’s governance framework and diminishes the authority of its statutory bodies. No subsequent consultation process, however well intentioned, can replace early engagement with the appropriate FIFA bodies and the football family.”

The chatter now is about what comes next:

● Will Infantino be forced to resign?

● If so, who takes over?

● Or, will FIFA be run by the remaining Council members until the March Congress?

One possible replacement, Paris St.-Germain head Nasser al-Khelaifi (QAT) has said he is not interested. AFC head Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (BRN) lost to Infantino for President in 2016, but is widely respected and remains a FIFA officer. Fellow confederation heads Aleksander Ceferin (UEFA: Slovenia) and Victor Montagliani (CONCACAF: Canada) would also be clear possibilities. UEFA’s strident leadership on the private-equity issue will certainly impress people to consider Ceferin.

The politics has taken over the situation now and all eyes will be on what Infantino does, or is forced to do, or doesn’t do. In the meantime, the 2030 World Cup is in the news.

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In the meantime, controversy over the FIFA World Cup is continuing, as a push is being made to expand the field again from 48 to 64, at least for the 2030 tournament.

This is not Infantino’s idea, but he is part of the cause. FIFA uses a continental rotation system for the World Cup and by adding three “centennial games” – in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – to mark the first World Cup back in 1930, he advanced the “rotation” so that South America’s turn was included in 2030.

That cleared the way for Saudi Arabia, with strong backing from Infantino, was able to be awarded the 2034 World Cup as the only bidder, from the Asian Football Confederation.

The South Americans have not been happy about this and have been angling for month to expand the 2030 field to 64 teams. By doing so, the three “centennial” hosts will get at least a full group – six matches – giving them some reasonable part of the tournament instead of just three games.

FIFA has moved ahead with a request for proposal to contract with an independent agency to “determine whether and how expanding the FIFA World Cup from 48 to 64 participating teams, starting with the 2030 edition, would impact on the tournament proposition football ecosystem.” The proposals are due back by 7 August, with a decision by FIFA on whether to proceed a week later.

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