Like his predecessors João Havelange (1974-1998) and Sepp Blatter (president 1998-2015), Gianni Infantino, president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), has built his power outside Europe.
Especially in Africa, but since he took office in 2016, his support has also been strong in Asia. Together, the two continents hold 100 of the 211 votes cast when a FIFA president is elected in March 2027.
Supported by Qatar
Shortly after the proposal to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors, Qatar - the 2022 World Cup host and one of 46 Asian football associations - announced that the emirate continues to give the Swiss its “full support.”
Asian members such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have also expressed their support in similar terms.
Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was strongly critical of the business plan when it was first announced last week. When the proposal was scrapped, it was welcomed by AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, but the Bahraini made no mention of the FIFA presidency in his statement. The sheikh lost the presidential election to Infantino in 2016 by 88-115 votes.
Jordan - a World Cup debutant this summer - has strongly criticised Infantino and FIFA over unpaid prize money from the 2025 Arab Championship.
"We have not supported him before, and we certainly will not do so now," Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, chairman of the Jordanian Football Association, wrote on X.
Africa (CAF), with its 54 associations, is the second-largest continental body in FIFA and has been a loyal supporter of Infantino.
After the World Cup deal fell through, CAF has been silent, but a handful of national associations have expressed their support. For example, Morocco, which together with Spain and Portugal is organising the 2030 World Cup.
Supported with silence?
The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), with ten FIFA members, has also not commented after the proposal was dropped. Conmebol president Alejandro Domínguez, of Paraguay, raised the issue a year ago that the World Cup should be expanded to 64 teams by 2030, and Infantino said during this summer's championship that the issue should be investigated by FIFA.
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will each host one match in the 2030 World Cup, but an expansion will most likely mean that the countries will have significantly more matches.
Oceania (OFC), with eleven federations, only made a statement when the World Cup deal became known - since then it has been silent.
+ Uefa (Union of European Football Associations) - 55 FIFA members
Europe reacted strongly when Gianni Infantino's proposal became known last week and threatened to boycott World Cup tournaments. When the plans were scrapped, Uefa remained critical and said confidence in the FIFA chief had been exhausted. Before that, 50 of the 55 European associations had sent letters of support for Infantino's re-election in March 2027, but countries such as England, Wales, the Netherlands and Finland have withdrawn their support. On Monday, Sweden, which has never sent a letter of support, announced that Infantino would not be backed in future and that it would work with its Uefa colleagues to develop a counter-candidate.
+ Concacaf (North and Central America and the Caribbean) - 35 FIFA members
Like Uefa, it was strongly critical of the proposal - even after it was dropped. Concacaf President Victor Montagliani from Canada is one of the names mentioned as a potential challenger to Infantino.
+ CAF (Confederation of African Football Associations) - 54 FIFA members
The federation itself has been completely silent since the middle of last week, but individual national federations have expressed their support for Infantino.
+ AFC (Asian Football Confederation) - 46 FIFA members
Asia, which Australia has been part of for several years, backed both Uefa and Concacaf when the opposition was strongest. It has been critical of the fact that the proposal was developed without being discussed in, for example, the FIFA board, but has not criticised Infantino by name.
+ Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) - 10 FIFA members
Has not commented since the proposal was scrapped.
+ OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) - 11 FIFA members
Made a statement when the plan became known, but has been silent since. New Zealand - the strongest footballing nation in the federation - said the proposal could not be supported, but has not made a statement since.
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 their respective continental federations on many major issues.
The next ordinary FIFA Congress will be held in Rabat, Morocco, in March 2027. A presidential election will be held then, and incumbent President Gianni Infantino is currently the only candidate.
The deadline for running as a candidate is November 18.
