The International Football Association Board (FIFA) is holding a congress in Morocco in March. A candidate to challenge Swiss president Gianni Infantino, who has been in office since 2016, must be nominated by November 18.
If we were to generalize a bit, it would probably be an advantage if the candidate who emerges is not European, says Simon Åström.
“Becoming a distortion”
Brazilian João Havelange (1974–1998) is the only non-European to have been elected FIFA president since the organization was founded in 1904.
In addition, Europe is the center of football’s billion-dollar business, with the world’s best club teams and a European Championship every four years, the most lucrative men’s national-team tournament after the World Cup.
This often means that many of the other confederations think we have a very strong advantage in football, and that if we also hold most of the major positions of power, it will create a distortion in the football system, says the head of the Swedish federation.
Of FIFA’s 211 member associations, 87 have expressed their continued support for Infantino in one way or another, according to the AP news agency. Forty-nine associations - most of them from Europe - have said they do not support the Swiss. The rest have not yet taken an official position on the issue.
For the Nordic federations and many others in Europe, it is important that a future president respects FIFA’s democratic structure, which should serve the best interests of football around the world, rather than self-interest, says Åström.
“Have humility”
Then you have to have humility and understand that the views we have in Northern Europe on democracy, equality and human rights do not characterize the whole world. But there should still be a candidate who can uphold those values in football and ensure that FIFA maintains at least a baseline on these issues.
Equally important is to review the statutes and ensure there are checks and balances that make it impossible for a president to make decisions “on his own, as we have seen over the past year,” says Åström.
He refers, for example, to the newly established Fifa Peace Prize, which was awarded to US President Donald Trump shortly afterwards, and Infantino’s now-scrapped plans to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors.
Otherwise, the risk is that you replace the person, but then in five or ten years we will be left with the same problem, says Simon Åström.
Facts: Infantino’s controversies
Three controversies involving Fifa President Gianni Infantino:
+ The Peace Prize for Donald Trump
On his own initiative - without first securing the Fifa board’s approval - Infantino established the Fifa Peace Prize in November last year. A month later, at the draw for the World Cup groups, US President Donald Trump received the prize. Critics believe the prize violates the organization’s rules on political neutrality.
+ The star escaped suspension
After receiving a red card in the round of 16, the US forward was set to miss the round-of-16 match against Belgium. But after Donald Trump called Infantino and asked for a review, FIFA’s disciplinary committee lifted the suspension. Infantino says he had nothing to do with the decision.
+ The storm surrounding the Fifa affair
At the end of July, it was revealed that Infantino wanted to set up a commercial subsidiary to sell shares in, among other things, the World Cup to private investors. Much of the football world was outraged by the proposal, which was developed without the Fifa board’s knowledge, and Infantino eventually withdrew his plans.
In connection with the World Cup, more than 200 of the 211 member associations of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) had expressed support for President Gianni Infantino’s re-election at the congress in Morocco in March 2027.
Following the controversy surrounding Infantino’s now-scrapped plans to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors, several member associations have withdrawn their support for his re-election. Continental confederations Uefa (Union of European Football Associations), AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) also want new leadership.
A rival candidate must be nominated by November 18, but no challenger has yet emerged.
Those recently speculated about as potential candidates include Canadian Victor Montagliani, Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan. Norway’s Lise Klaveness has said she is not interested, as has Qatari Nasser al-Khelaifi, chairman of French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Infantino took office as FIFA president in 2016.
