Gianni Infantino walks into a room on Thursday that contains several of the most powerful people in football who have publicly said he should no longer have his job. That's not a tense boardroom — that's a reckoning.
The FIFA Council meeting in Zurich is the first time Infantino faces his critics since the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme fell apart in July, days after he announced it. The plan — to sell a minority stake in FIFA's commercial arm to private investors, with a company linked to Joshua Kushner as the proposed lead investor — collapsed fast and loudly. It also confirmed what many inside football already suspected: the gap between Infantino and FIFA's regional power brokers is now a chasm.
Three confederations want him out
UEFA's Aleksander Ceferin, AFC president Salman Al Khalifa, and CONCACAF's Victor Montagliani have all called for change at the top. That's Europe, Asia, and North and Central America. When three of FIFA's six confederations are publicly aligned against the sitting president, this isn't an internal grumble — it's an organised opposition.
Governance reform is on the agenda. His opponents know they probably can't force Infantino out before the March 2027 election, but limiting what he can actually do with power may be the next best outcome. Miguel Maduro, who chaired FIFA's Governance Committee before Infantino had him removed in 2016, is already sceptical. "Such an exercise, if not genuinely independent and enforceable, might be more of the same: a window dressing exercise simply aimed at reducing public pressure," he said. Hard to argue with a man who's seen this film before.
There's also the small matter of FIFA's controversial Peace Prize, awarded to Donald Trump last year, which is expected to come up for discussion. Yes, really.
Infantino still has a base
He's not finished. African football leaders gave him a standing ovation in Cape Verde last week. South America is expected to back him at the 2027 election in Rabat. And despite the AFC leadership's criticism, a significant bloc of Arab nations within Asia remains in his corner. Former Switzerland and Tottenham defender Ramon Vega has thrown his name into the ring as a potential rival candidate, though he hasn't confirmed the backing of the five national associations needed to formally enter the race.
Infantino's path to survival is clear: hold Africa, hold South America, fragment Asia. It's not an elegant political coalition — but it might be enough.
UEFA and CONCACAF have pushed for FIFA to release $10 million directly to each of its 211 member associations, a counteroffer to FFE's more ambitious $20 million (with a potential further $20 million) development funding structure. The argument isn't just ideological — it's a fight over who controls the money, and therefore who controls the votes.
Emanuel Medeiros of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance put it plainly: "The eyes of the world are on them." Thursday's meeting will show whether that scrutiny changes anything, or whether FIFA's council does what it usually does — talks, delays, and moves on.
