Power Struggle: The Great Rebellion Against the FIFA President
For years, FIFA President Gianni Infantino bought loyalty, eliminated opposition, and kept Africa in his pocket. Now, at least 15 football associations on the continent are rebelling, Europe and America are uniting against him, and the biggest threat is coming from within the house. Is this the end of the football dictator, or will the bribes save him again?
After becoming the punching bag of the football world following his attempt to privatize the World Cup, it was not a bad week for FIFA President Gianni Infantino. He removed from his path associates who tried to rebel against him, and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin — who called the privatization plan "worse than the Super League idea" and has long declared his desire to clean up FIFA from within — withdrew his candidacy from the race against him. From his perspective, there was a glitch, the puncture was repaired, and it is possible to move on with maximum force. Infantino has plenty of ideas, and also a direct line to the Qatari sheikhs, the Kushner family, and the White House.
The surprise, as usual, came from an unexpected place. The African continent has always been in his pocket. These are federations that need every cent to maintain and upgrade the football systems in their territories, build infrastructure, and grow coaches — and to maintain the system of corruption and bribery in their countries. Infantino knew well how to grease them. Even the unrighteous knows the soul of his beast. The jump in the continent's representation in the World Cup tournament following the increase in the number of teams, and the qualification of nine out of ten African teams to the knockout stages, hinted that the deal between Infantino and Africa was not going anywhere.
Although on the surface the Confederation of African Football expressed broad support for the continuation of his presidency, over the weekend it was published in the British "Guardian" that at least 15 out of 54 federations on the continent decided to rebel against the decision, to escape from his deep pockets, to join federations from Europe, Asia, and North America — and to go against him. According to the reports, the federations turned to Mattias Grafstrom, who sent a message to the organization's employees regarding Infantino's plan, in which he wrote that "this is a sad and condemnable sequence of events," and promised their support if he decides to run against him. This is an earthquake. The palace is cracking, the chair is wobbling, and the noose around the continued rule of the football dictator is tightening.
Meanwhile, UEFA and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced that they are in talks to establish a joint Nations League with the participation of 96 teams, as part of the united front against FIFA's commercialization plans. This is a biennial tournament that is supposed to launch as early as 2028. The president of CONCACAF even asked Infantino not to attend a U-14 football tournament held over the weekend in the Dominican Republic. The FIFA president, who was counting on the tour to scrape up more votes, arrived anyway, even though a letter sent to him stated that "his presence will sabotage the tournament."
Infantino succeeded where every other global issue failed: he erased the factionalism and caused the world to unite in a rebellion against a common enemy. The move by the African federations turns this rebellion from a tactical struggle into a real campaign over the essence and identity of football. Infantino accumulated almost unlimited power that corrupted him and caused him to act and make decisions almost without consulting. More importantly, this is a resistance movement born among the fans. Their aspiration to topple the dictatorship in FIFA and introduce a breath of democratic air into the organization triggered a chain reaction in the local federations as well.
However, football fans around the world do not need to open the champagne bottles yet. According to reports on the mini-rebellion of the African federations, which was aimed both against their confederation's decision and against Infantino, they have a condition for support: more money. Is there someone with deeper pockets than his when it comes to bribes in exchange for votes? Perhaps Sheikh Salman, the Crown Prince of Bahrain and one of the prominent names on the stock exchange of Infantino's successors. Salman is suspected by human rights organizations around the world as someone who stood behind the arrest and torture of thousands of citizens (and athletes) who tried to promote democracy in his country.
Grafstrom, who in the meantime has also walked back some of the criticism he leveled at Infantino's moves, did not commit to running in the presidential elections in March 2027, but also did not answer in the negative. Another detail to remember: the Trump administration, through Kushner, was indirectly involved in Infantino's attempt to sell 20 percent of the rights to the World Cup for 4.2 billion dollars. Another hint of his wavering status can be found in the fact that the US President has presented the Swiss several times in recent weeks as a worthy candidate to replace Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, whose term will end at the end of the year.
Infantino, who has held the position since 2016, will present his candidacy in the elections for the fourth time in Rabat, Morocco. The deadline for registering other candidates is November 18. For this reason, the decision of Ceferin — who is considered one of Infantino's biggest opponents and continues to push for his total removal even after he walked back the privatization attempt — not to run against him was received with some surprise. Infantino is talented enough, cruel enough, and possesses a spider-web network of connections that allows him to solve almost any problem that might arise regarding the continuation of his term.
The Frenchman Kevin Lamour, the number 3 man in FIFA, was ousted from his position after he dared to criticize the boss and accuse him of misleading the organization's employees regarding the privatization of the World Cup. What will be harder for Infantino is to deal with a combination of two different bodies that will go against him, unlike a united front of confederations. The connection between African football federations, an external force, and Grafstrom, an enemy from within, could destroy his hopes of being elected once again.
At the beginning of August, Infantino organized a team-building trip to Morocco for himself and his employees. On the agenda were diplomatic meetings intended to recruit political support and ensure votes for the continuation of his term. According to some reports, he offered his hosts to hold the 2030 World Cup final in Morocco in exchange for their support. Lamour was not invited to the team-building and vote-recruiting trip. Someone who was invited but did not appear was one of Infantino's associates and supporters in the organization, the head of FIFA's global football development division, one Arsene Wenger. Wenger's absence testifies to two things: he too opposes the boss's unilateral moves, and the end of Infantino is truly around the corner.
