UEFA begins moves to topple Infantino: three candidates to succeed him

Gianni Infantino's future as FIFA president looks increasingly uncertain after he abandoned the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" project. The scheme aimed to create a new commercial entity partly funded by private investment funds, in exchange for handing each member association 40 million dollars for joining.

According totalkSPORT, Infantino backed down after admitting the project had "created divisions", once UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA tournaments if it went ahead.

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Within 48 hours, Infantino also lost the support of investor Joshua Kushner and the bank JP Morgan. FIFA senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned, and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour accused the president of having "deceived the staff".

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, meanwhile, is weighing up whether to ask the European associations that gave written backing to Infantino, believed to number more than 40, to withdraw it.

Senior figures within the English Football Association also discussed pulling their official support, speaking on condition of anonymity. The FA had issued a statement calling for "a complete and rigorous review of FIFA's leadership and governance, to ensure that the global game is run with transparency, serving all 211 member associations and over the long term".

Germany still oppose Infantino's re-election, according to the report, while Norway, Poland, France, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, Mexico and Jordan are preparing to meet and settle their positions.

Strong push to oust Infantino

On the presidential elections themselves, the talkSPORT report points to a strong push within UEFA to block Infantino from standing again in 2027, or at least to defeat him if he enters the race.

UEFA holds 55 votes. Any candidate needs 106 to win in the second round, while a first-round victory requires a two-thirds majority of 141.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani of Canada harbours ambitions of reaching the top job, the report states, quoting a source close to him: "He has always been focused on his re-election at CONCACAF next year, and interestingly the CONCACAF and UEFA votes together (96 votes) need only 10 additional votes to win the FIFA presidency".

Several UEFA associations back Nasser Al-Khelaifi for the role, though a source close to the Paris Saint-Germain president insists he "has no ambition" to run. FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström is another name strongly touted to succeed Infantino.

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