Infantino on the edge: who could take over at Fifa?

Gianni Infantino spent much of the World Cup crossing the United States in a private jet, projecting the image of a president with every angle covered. On 19 July he stood beside US President Donald Trump and helped hand the trophy to Spain. Less than two weeks later, he finds himself in a far more isolated position. The storm has been triggered by Infantino's attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup. Andy Burnham has joined fans of the game in condemning him, Uefa has threatened a boycott of Fifa competitions, and Concacaf and the AFC have joined the criticism. The AFC said the affair had exposed fundamental weaknesses in Fifa's consultation and decision-making processes. Sources add that most Concacaf members have either lost faith in Infantino or are close to doing so. There have been further blows. Carlos Cordeiro, a special advisor to Infantino who was also appointed by Trump as senior advisor to the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup, has resigned. Fifa chief operating officer Kevin Lamour told the Associated Press that Fifa's own administration had been 'deceived' about the project. Might Infantino really go? David Bernstein, the former FA chairman, argues that in a normal organisation he would probably be shown the door after being forced to back down on something of this magnitude. But Fifa is not a normal organisation. If enough national associations support him, he can continue. Jim Boyce, the former Fifa vice-president, also thinks Infantino still has enough support to be re-elected, but he warned that if things keep moving at this pace, who knows. Boyce said that if he were a betting man, he would still bet on Infantino getting his final four-year term. Infantino has led Fifa since 2016. Before that, he spent seven years as Uefa's secretary general. He beat Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa by 115 votes to 88 after promising to clean up an organisation tainted by corruption allegations and the resignation of Sepp Blatter. Blatter was cleared of corruption charges last year. Infantino, now 56, has twice been re-elected unopposed and was expected to go through the same process again in March. Blatter was unopposed in 2007 and 2011. The last time a Fifa president lost an election was in 1974, when Joao Havelange unseated Sir Stanley Rous; Havelange never faced a challenge for five straight terms and finally resigned in 1998, aged 82. At least one Uefa member has already withdrawn a letter supporting Infantino's re-election. If Infantino goes, Victor Montagliani, the Concacaf president, is an obvious name in the frame. Elected in 2016 on a governance reform platform, he is a former president of Canada Soccer and was heavily involved in the 2026 World Cup as co-chair, with the tournament becoming the first to be hosted by three nations. He is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish and English. Montagliani once explained his run for the Concacaf presidency by saying he campaigned on his own dime for three months and visited all 41 member countries, from the US to Bonaire, a small island off Venezuela. He also led Concacaf's expanded Copa America in 2024 and rejected the idea of it becoming a regular event.