FIFA President Gianni Infantino, currently the most powerful man in world football, appears to be pulling out all the stops in a bid to retain his position despite growing calls for his ouster and wide-ranging disapproval of his plans. The 56-year-old has been in charge of FIFA for over 10 years and is seen as a divisive figure in international football, with his close ties to some of the most powerful global leaders and plans for maximising revenue from football viewed as a threat to the game. With a little over six months until the next round of elections for FIFA’s presidency, Infantino appears to be losing ground among his usual backers in national football federations and regional confederations.
Here’s a look at where Infantino stands in terms of support and what challenges lie ahead for him and FIFA: While the Swiss head of FIFA has never been a widely popular figure with football fans, he has enjoyed support amongst leading figures in the sport and global leaders. This popularity, however, has waned over the past few months, especially since making no secret of his close ties with United States President Donald Trump and announcing FIFA’s plans to privatise the World Cup in order to maximise revenue from the tournament. The FIFA chief first met Trump at the White House in 2018 after the US was awarded the co-hosting rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Infantino has since made several public appearances with the US president, including at the so-called Summit for Peace in Egypt in October 2025. Infantino was the target of widespread scathing criticism in December, when he handed the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to the US president at the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw held at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC. The final blow to the global football chief’s position came in the days after the World Cup, when he invited private investors to buy a stake in future profits from World Cups and all FIFA events.
The investor group was led by Joshua Kushner, an American businessman who is also the younger brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. While the ensuing backlash – which included pledges by European nations to boycott FIFA events and claims from senior staff that Infantino deceived everyone – led Infantino to announce Friday that he was abandoning the plan, irreparable damage had already been to his reputation. He now faces a race against time to garner support in his push for an extraordinary fourth term as president.
FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office, with each term lasting four years. However, in 2022, Infantino successfully argued that his first spell in charge, which began when he was elected at an extraordinary FIFA Congress in 2016 following Sepp Blatter’s resignation, should not count towards that limit because it completed an interrupted mandate. His plans to run for a fourth term have been questioned by critics and rights groups, who have asked FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) to block Infantino’s re-election bid.
The polls to elect FIFA’s next president will be held at the global governing body’s next congress, which is slated for March 18, 2027 in Rabat, Morocco. All challengers vying for the post must declare their candidacy by November 18. The candidates will face off in a poll involving all 211 FIFA member nations, with 106 votes required to pick a winner.
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