When Gianni Infantino was re-elected as president of the International Football Association Board (FIFA) for the last two times - in 2019 and 2023 - it happened without a formal vote.
There was no opposing candidate and the Swiss' support for the congresses was already secured. During his ten years in office, Infantino has favoured the many small nations among FIFA's 211 member associations - their votes are worth just as much as the votes of football giants Spain, Brazil and France.
"Not Infantino's system"
The same path has been followed by predecessors Sepp Blatter (president 1998-2015) and João Havelange (1974-1998).
-It's not Infantino's system, it's a system that Havelange actually built when he was chairman, says Stanis Elsborg, head of the Danish organization Play the Game, which works to spread democratic values within the sports world.
Infantino knows very well that money buys loyalty, Elsborg continues.
By the end of this summer's World Cup in North America, more than 200 of the member associations had expressed their support for Infantino ahead of the congress in March 2027, according to The Guardian.
The failure of the now-scrapped plan to sell shares of, among other things, World Cup tournaments to private investors has changed everything.
The European Football Association (Uefa) - with 55 associations - wants him to resign and, for example, the English Football Association has reportedly withdrawn its support.
Concacaf (North and Central America and the Caribbean) - 35 associations - believes that a “thorough evaluation of this presidency is of the utmost importance”.
Asia (AFC) - 46 federations - has not criticised Infantino in the same way, but believes that decision-making within FIFA must be investigated.
However, there is complete silence from the vocal African Confederation (Caf) - 54 members - even though individual federations such as Morocco, one of the three main organisers of the 2030 World Cup, declared continued support for the Swiss over the weekend.
“Secure more money”
When he was first elected in 2016 in the wake of corruption scandals within the world federation, Infantino promised more transparency and clearer accountability.
FIFA has not taken that direction under his leadership - however, Infantino has kept his word regarding increased revenue for member associations.
-He has secured more money for Fifa and he has distributed much more money to all member associations than the previous chairman did, says Stanis Elsborg.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) consists of 211 member associations, all of which have voting rights on the issues raised during a congress.
The federations do not vote in blocs, but can seek consensus within the respective continental federation on many major issues.
There are a total of six continental federations.
The Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) is the largest with 55 FIFA members, closely followed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf), which has 54 FIFA members.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has 46 members, the North and Central American and Caribbean Confederation (Concacaf) has 35, the Oceania Confederation (OFC) has 11 and the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) has 10 FIFA members.
The next ordinary FIFA Congress will be held in Rabat, Morocco, in March 2027. A presidential election will be held then, and currently incumbent President Gianni Infantino is the only candidate.
The deadline for running as a candidate is November 18th.
Swiss Gianni Infantino, 56, has been president of the International Football Association Board (FIFA) since February 2016 - before that he was, among other things, secretary general of the European Football Association (UEFA) from 2009 to 2016.
He was elected at an extraordinary FIFA congress in the wake of the corruption scandals surrounding his predecessor Sepp Blatter.
His first three years in office do not count as a full term, meaning Infantino could be re-elected for four more years next year. According to FIFA's statutes, a president can serve a maximum of three full terms, which Infantino will reach if re-elected.
