A week is a long time in politics and even more so in football politics. Even for whom President Trump called “the king of football.” A few days ago, Gianni Infantino was in a position of strength as president of FIFA, the most powerful position in world football.
A week later, after his attempt to promote the sale of assets in FIFA competitions to private investors - apparently without anyone's knowledge - his position on that throne is shaky.
UEFA, the federation that governs soccer in Europe, was the first to bite the bullet, declaring it would boycott FIFA tournaments, followed by CONCACAF, which governs the sport in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Even though Infantino backtracked on his controversial share sale proposal over the weekend, both federations called for a complete review of FIFA's leadership.
UEFA also threatened to sue the world body.
This Monday, Wales became the first country to turn its back on Infantino as president of FIFA and the FA, the English Football Association, is also expected to write to the pressured leader to inform him that it will also withdraw its support.
As president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino is the man who pulls the strings of the international beautiful game, the person who has managed to revive the world organization after the corruption scandals that destroyed his predecessor and who, after 10 years at the reins of the governing body of world football, has managed to reform and expand the competition, although not without controversy.
But his management throughout this decade has also managed to turn around an institution that was mired in accusations of corruption and with a deficit that reached US$550 million after the withdrawal of sponsors due to previous scandals.
“I will work tirelessly to bring football back to FIFA and FIFA back to football,” Infantino said when he took office a decade ago.
Ten years later, there is no doubt that the governing body is in excellent health. It expects to post record revenues of $13 billion in the three-year cycle that ends at the end of this year.
But those numbers only tell part of the story.
Added to these are the controversial Club World Cup and the largest World Cup in history, with their high ticket prices. Ending in the controversial plan to sell FIFA assets to private investors that he was forced to retract and that now has him on the ropes.
This is the story of his rise to the elite of world football and how he established himself in an almost impregnable position until he exceeded his ambitions.
'A new day, a new dawn'
It is easy to forget that Sepp Blatter's successor as FIFA president was going to be Michel Platini, then president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
But after Platini became embroiled in the organisation's scandal – both he and Blatter were later fully acquitted of corruption charges – Infantino became UEFA's preferred candidate.
As secretary general of European football's governing body, Infantino was President Platini's right-hand man for seven years.
But he was an unlikely savior, a man who was rarely on the mind of the average football fan.
For many, he was simply the guy who presented the Champions League draws.
Ten years later, you'd be hard-pressed to find a football fan who doesn't recognize him.
Born in Switzerland in 1960 into a family of Italian immigrants, Infantino grew up in a humble environment, where football was always present.
His interest shifted to football administration as a teenager, after which he studied Law at the University of Freiburg to become a lawyer specializing in that sport.
In 2000, at 30 years old and already working at UEFA, he became the head of its legal department. By 2009, Infatino was already secretary general of the organization.
Those who know him closely say that he is a very hard worker. He also speaks seven languages: Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic. His wife is Lebanese and the couple has 4 children.
For Infantino, turning around FIFA after the corruption scandal that shook its foundations was not an easy task.
The US Department of Justice had indicted a large number of top executives and needed comprehensive reform.
Two pages of his election program were dedicated to more than doubling development funds for member associations.
That would be used for new competitions, infrastructure and even to cover travel expenses for smaller nations.
The expansion of the World Cup was also included, although to 40 teams. Within a year it was definitively approved as a 48-team tournament.
The elections were very close.
In the first round, Infantino led Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa – president of the Asian Confederation – by 88 votes to 85.
Infantino only managed to distance himself when the 34 votes originally cast for Jordanian Prince Ali bin al-Hussein and French executive Jerome Champagne were reallocated.
The final result was 115 votes to 88.
“This is a new day, a new dawn,” said then-president of the English Football Association, Greg Dyke, celebrating Infantino's victory. “He is not a politician or egocentric.”
Infantino declared, for his part, that he would "restore the image of FIFA."
“It's your money, not the FIFA president's,” Infantino told delegates. “FIFA money should be used to develop football.”
Infantino kept his word. But to make more money, FIFA had to be creative.
“Today I feel Qatari”
The controversial 2018 World Cups in Russia and 2022 in Qatar were waiting on Infantino's agenda.
The vote to award the tournaments had been mired in controversy, with accusations of collusion and secret agreements, but there was no turning back.
In his first years as president, Infantino kept a fairly low profile. It wasn't until the World Cup came to Qatar that he began to become a more public figure.
Pressured by repeated criticism over workers' rights and accusations of modern slavery in the country, Infantino fought back.
He first denounced the “hypocrisy” and “racism” against Qatar in the European media, and then gave his controversial speech on discrimination.
“Today I feel Qatari,” he said. "Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel like a migrant worker."
Every game he attended, the television cameras seemed to focus on him in the crowd.
And there was a reason. According to some reports - on which FIFA declined to comment - television directors were told that Infantino should be shown at least once per match, but not if he was using his mobile phone.
The controversy begins
After the World Cup in Qatar, Infantino made many more headlines, from plans to organize tournaments and new competitions to derogatory comments about the behavior of English fans.
Infantino had promised an expanded, summer Club World Cup shortly after his election in 2016.
The plan suffered several delays, but two days before the 2022 World Cup final, FIFA finally announced that it would be held in 2025, in the United States.
He organized a large-scale tournament in a summer that was normally reserved for players' recovery.
FIFA rejected claims that players' union Fifpro and the World League Association were not consulted.
Then came the singular assignment of the final phases of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.
It was decided that the 2030 edition would be held on three continents: Africa, Europe and South America. That meant the 2034 event had to take place in Asia or Oceania.
With no real competition, this effectively guaranteed that Saudi Arabia – another country whose human rights record has been questioned – would host.
Saudi Arabia and FIFA, under Infantino, had established a close relationship.
The Norwegian football federation abstained from the process, arguing that the bidding process undermined “FIFA reforms for good governance” and called into question “trust in FIFA.”
In May 2024, it was revealed that Infantino received a 33% pay increase, determined by an independent committee, following his re-election the previous year.
This raised his base salary from $2.4 million to $3.2 million.
In addition, he was entitled to a bonus of more than US$2 million, an amount that remained unchanged.
Infantino, who earned about $1.7 million when he was first elected in 2016, is now approaching Blatter's last annual salary of $3.5 million.
Getting closer to Trump
The situation came to a head in May 2025. Infantino had been on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East with Trump and arrived two hours late at the FIFA Congress.
UEFA accused Infantino of prioritizing “private political interests” and staged a mass exit.
Then came the Club World Cup last summer, in which stadiums could be seen with a large number of empty seats.
However, when Infantino gathered the media at Trump Tower, he declared that it was already “the most successful club competition in the world.”
Last December, the draw for this summer's World Cup was a long, lavish and extravagant event.
Infantino took center stage, and Trump received the controversial FIFA Peace Prize.
Within a week the high price of tickets for the final was announced.
Tickets for the group stage were going to cost up to three times more than those for the 2022 World Cup, and the cheapest for the final in New Jersey would cost almost $4,200.
After a slight rectification, Infantino defended the prices and stated that they reflected the “absolutely excessive” demand of the public.
Infantino insisted that all the money would be reinvested in football, saying: “Without FIFA there would be no football in 150 countries.”
But other controversies would still come.
During the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 at this World Cup, the star forward of the United States team, Folarin Balogun, received a red card that would prevent him from playing in the round of 16 against Belgium.
After a call from Trump to Infantino, FIFA decided to suspend Balogun's sanction for a year, something that had only happened once in 1962. The decision was surrounded, then as now, by accusations of political interference.
A bridge too far
The controversial plan to sell shares in the organisation's top competitions led to UEFA announcing a boycott of all future FIFA tournaments, leading to the resignation of one of Infantino's top advisers.
The plans would have allowed FIFA to create a commercial subsidiary to organize its main events. Outside investors would then have been able to buy stakes in the company.
FIFA's chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, claimed that the governing body's own administration had been "misled" about the project. For his part, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Infantino as “the wrong man” to lead Fifa.
Following an outcry from two other major confederations, Infantino issued a statement saying he would no longer go ahead with the plans, adding that it had become clear that the project had “created divisions” that were “no longer in the interest” of its original objective.
UEFA's response was devastating: it said it had lost confidence in Infantino's leadership.
Despite the controversies, Infantino has made a clear difference to many footballing nations around the world. Yes, it's about money. But money for football.
It has enriched some of the poorest and smallest nations, providing finance through infrastructure and development.
And FIFA has been transparent in publishing the salaries of all top executives and keeping funds within football.
But the fallout from the failed plan means Infantino is now under enormous pressure as he seeks re-election for a fourth term as president at the FIFA Congress in March 2027.
Can Infantino be dismissed?
The quickest way for Infantino to leave would be for the Swiss to resign, as his predecessor Sepp Blatter did in 2015.
But Infantino continues to maintain support and could try to hold out until March, when he will run for re-election for a fourth and final term as president.
Another avenue would be for the FIFA Council to try to force Infantino's hand into an emergency meeting, but there are doubts that the necessary 19 votes can be mustered to call it. Still, if Infantino were asked to resign in a hypothetical emergency meeting, he could simply refuse to do so.
However, it would add even more pressure.
The next step would be an extraordinary congress of the 211 FIFA member associations, which would be held if 43 associations “make such a request in writing.” UEFA has 55 countries and could call the extraordinary congress whenever it wants, but with no guarantee of success.
In effect, it would be a de facto election without another candidate, since 106 votes would be needed to approve the motion of no confidence.
UEFA has 55, Africa 54, Asia 46, CONCACAF 35, Oceania 11 and CONMEBOL 10.
CONMEBOL, which governs soccer in South America, has not criticized Infantino's plan. Neither Africa nor Oceania.
Could UEFA reach 106? In total, 136 countries officially rejected the investment plan, but voting to reject an idea is not the same as voting to oust Infantino.
Of the 136, Qatar has already publicly supported it and Mexico has distanced itself from the CONCACAF joint statement.
What this leaves, then, is the search for a suitable candidate to contest the March elections.
Infantino ran unopposed when he was re-elected in 2019 and 2023, and if anyone wants to compete with him for the position, the deadline to announce their candidacy is November 18.
* With information from Dale Johnson, BBC football correspondent; Mandeep Sanghira, BBC sports reporter; Dan Roan, BBC sports editor.
