FIFA president Gianni Infantino faces growing opposition from influential continental confederations, but FIFA’s voting system, which gives each national association one vote, makes the task of replacing him complicated as the presidential election scheduled for March 2027 approaches. The funding FIFA provides to its members is emerging as an influential factor in the confrontation, given the organisation’s resources worth billions of dollars.
Investment project triggers continental opposition within FIFA
The disputes have returned to the fore as Infantino prepares to face his opponents on Thursday during a FIFA Council meeting, following a crisis sparked by a project that would have opened commercial activity linked to the World Cup to private-sector investors. The project prompted objections over transparency and the future of the tournament’s financial revenues.
Although FIFA abandoned the project, opposition has not stopped, particularly from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), and the Asian Football Confederation. The crisis has developed into a broader confrontation over the management of the billions of dollars FIFA distributes to its member associations.
One-vote rule gives associations equal influence
FIFA has 211 national associations, each with one vote in the presidential election, regardless of the country’s population, football standing or contribution to the game’s revenues. Under this rule, the vote of a major association such as the German or Brazilian association is equal to that of an association representing a small country with a population of no more than tens of thousands.
Sports analyst Mohsen Lamloum said Infantino enjoys strong support from associations in Africa and Asia, which together hold 101 votes, while his level of support has fallen sharply in Europe, which has 55 associations. He said this composition provides the FIFA president with a broad electoral base and makes his opponents’ task more difficult, despite the considerable influence wielded by European associations.
Opposition needs a candidate and a broad electoral alliance
These estimates do not guarantee that all African and Asian associations will vote for Infantino, as the Asian Football Confederation itself was among those to oppose some of his policies. However, turning the existing opposition into actual change requires overcoming two main obstacles: agreeing on a candidate able to challenge the incumbent president, and securing a sufficient majority among the national associations.
Time pressure on Infantino’s opponents is increasing ahead of the March 2027 election, with 18 November set as the deadline for submitting nominations. This means the opposing associations must build a broad alliance around a consensus candidate rather than merely maintain positions rejecting some decisions by FIFA’s administration. Money occupies a central place in this equation.
On 18 September, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani called for at least 10 million dollars to be allocated to each national association from FIFA’s financial reserves. If the proposal is implemented, the total distributed to the 211 associations would reach 2.11 billion dollars.
The demand reveals the scale of FIFA’s resources, but it also presents a paradox for Infantino’s opponents. While they call for the way the money is managed to be reconsidered, the president can adopt an increase in funding and present it as a continuation of his policies aimed at developing football.
Financial aid strengthens Infantino’s electoral influence
Lamloum stressed that financial aid plays a major role in strengthening the FIFA president’s influence, particularly among African associations that receive millions of dollars to fund football projects. The money is even more important for associations with limited resources, as it can be a key source of funding for building stadiums and training centres, as well as organising domestic competitions.
FIFA documents cited by Agence France-Presse show disparities in the value of funding provided to associations. The Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association, whose population is below 50,000, has received more than 20 million dollars since 2016, while the Chinese and Brazilian associations have each received 17.8 million dollars.
These figures do not prove favouritism, because development programmes are subject to different funding criteria, but they show the importance of FIFA aid to small associations with limited capabilities. They also demonstrate the overlap between funding and the electoral equation, without meaning that an association’s receipt of aid necessarily determines how it votes.
Regarding the possibility of replacing Infantino, Lamloum said his opponents might have an opportunity to do so if they succeeded in proving the allegations of financial corruption raised over his administration. However, proving violations, if any occurred, would not automatically lead to the president’s removal, because the outcome depends on the nature of the violations and the procedures set out in FIFA’s regulations.
Alongside the accountability process, Infantino’s opponents are seeking to expand the powers of the FIFA Council and involve other parties in decision-making, including club representatives. The international federation’s council consists of 36 members, but it does not have the power to elect the president; that task belongs to the FIFA Congress, in which the member national associations participate.
This leaves Infantino’s opponents with two different paths: proving violations that warrant accountability under FIFA’s regulations, or entering an electoral contest with a candidate capable of building a broad alliance.
With 211 equal votes assembled in an organisation that manages billions of dollars in revenues and aid, uniting the opposing continental confederations alone will not be enough to settle the presidential contest.
