FIFA president Gianni Infantino faces mounting pressure ahead of elections
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing mounting pressure to resign ahead of the March elections following the fallout from his controversial proposal to sell a stake in the organisation’s commercial arm.
The 54-year-old withdrew his contentious plan to create the FIFA Forward Enterprise on 1 August.
However, the aborted proposal has sparked widespread anger among global footballing authorities.
Three of the six global confederations opposed the move, alongside numerous individual member associations.
European and Asian federations unite
UEFA went as far as threatening to boycott upcoming FIFA competitions over the commercial spin-off.
The European governing body specifically targeted next month’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland for their proposed boycott.
The Swiss-Italian administrator also faced unprecedented internal criticism from Kevin Lamour, the organisation’s chief operating officer.
Opponents are now accelerating their efforts to oust the global football chief before the scheduled leadership vote on 18 March.
Election challenges and ethics complaints
Rivals fear the incumbent leader will use the coming months to rebuild his power base and secure vital voting support.
A formal candidate to challenge the former UEFA general secretary must be registered by the 18 November deadline.
The head of world football is also facing external scrutiny from human rights campaigners FairSquare.
The group has lodged a formal complaint with the FIFA Ethics Committee regarding the awarding of a peace prize to former US President Donald Trump.
Paths to potential removal
A voluntary resignation remains highly unlikely for a leader known for his robust and uncompromising style.
Removing the incumbent would require at least 43 member nations to formally request an Extraordinary Congress.
This would trigger a complex vote of no confidence process to formally end his current presidential term early.