FIFA boss Gianni Infantino is facing the most serious challenge to his leadership yet as a group of FIFA Council members seeks to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
The recent mounting crisis stems from a convergence of intense governance rows and a collapsed commercial deal.
As reported by The Guardian, a move that could escalate into a full-scale leadership contest comes after FIFA boss was forced to scrap a highly controversial proposal to spin off FIFA’s commercial operations into a $20 billion enterprise, selling a 20% stake to private equity firm Thrive Capital.
The plan sparked fierce backlash, a threatened boycott from UEFA, and internal accusations that the project was pushed through unilaterally.
Following the dramatic U-turn on the sell-off, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin declared that UEFA has lost confidence in Infantino, stating that the leadership must be held accountable. CONCACAF has similarly demanded a full review of FIFA’s governance.
Discontent among council members was already brewing prior to the commercial debacle, driven by anger over the handling of Folarin Balogun’s controversial suspension lifting during the World Cup—a move allegedly influenced by political pressure. Rebels are demanding an independent external review into the matter.
FIFA Council is the world governing body’s main decision-making forum composed of 28 representatives of the six confederations, eight vice presidents and Infantino and under FIFA rules a motion from 50% or 19 of the 37 council members can trigger an EGM.
Under FIFA statutes, an EGM can be triggered by a motion backed by at least 50% (19 out of 37) of the FIFA Council members.
While European and North American delegates are driving the charge, a successful ouster or vote of no confidence will heavily depend on whether the rebels can secure cross-confederation support, particularly from Asia and Africa, where Infantino still retains key allies.
The unhappy council members had been planning on calling for Infantino to resign if he refused to sanction an independent review of the Balogun affair, which led to the Norwegian FA filing an official complaint to the International Olympic Committee alleging FIFA had breached rules on political neutrality by bowing to pressure from Trump.
FIFA has insisted all along that it followed due process with the decision taken independently by its ethics committee, but has yet to publish a written report on the hearing.
