Gianni Infantino will face growing opposition from football leaders in Zurich on Thursday as FIFA’s top officials meet following the collapse of his plan to sell a stake in the organisation’s commercial interests, including the World Cup.
The 37-member FIFA Council will discuss the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, which Infantino abandoned within days of announcing it in July.
Failed investment plan sparks division
Under the proposal, FIFA would have sold a minority stake in a commercial subsidiary to private investors. A company launched by Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, emerged as the proposed lead investor.
The plan widened divisions within world football. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, AFC chief Salman Al Khalifa and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani called for a change in FIFA’s leadership.
Their representatives will attend Thursday’s meeting alongside officials from Africa, South America and Oceania.
The council will also examine FIFA’s governance, financial reserves, disciplinary procedures and Peace Prize. The organisation controversially awarded the prize to US President Donald Trump last year.
Last month, UEFA and CONCACAF urged FIFA to release $10 million to each of its 211 member associations. Their proposal challenged Infantino’s FFE plan, which offered $20 million in development funding and potential access to another $20 million.
Calls for governance reform
Infantino’s opponents want to limit his powers if they cannot remove him from office. However, the FIFA president has continued to build support ahead of his re-election bid in March 2027.
Emanuel Medeiros, founder and global CEO of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance, said FIFA needed a “frank discussion” in Zurich.
“The eyes of the world are on them,” he said. “The world of football expects to see a council that takes this unique opportunity to establish a genuinely independent, comprehensive and transparent governance review… We certainly wish to see a new impetus, a new dynamic.”
Miguel Maduro, a lawyer and politician who chaired FIFA’s Governance Committee before Infantino sacked him in 2016, questioned whether the meeting would produce meaningful change.
“They may announce the setting up of a Working Group or even an Independent Review of FIFA Governance but the credibility of either exercise will be very limited in the light of FIFA’s track record,” he said.
Infantino seeks another term
Infantino, 56, faces a November 18 deadline for candidates to submit nominations for the 2027 election.
Former Switzerland and Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega has announced his intention to run. However, he has yet to confirm whether he has support from the five national associations required to enter the race.
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