Norway has demanded that FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, step down after his failed plan to sell ownership shares of the World Cup to private backers. In contrast, Argentina and Mexico have expressed their backing for the 56-year-old administrator.
The Norwegian stance is more aggressive than that of the governing bodies of England, Wales, Croatia, and Albania, which have all retracted their backing of Infantino without openly demanding his resignation.
“He [Infantino] lacks the systemic confidence needed to lead FIFA in a stable manner during these current times,” stated Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF), on Friday.
“The situation is irreversible for Gianni Infantino. Global football collaboration is facing significant difficulties, and we need a concrete purpose to unite, which is why we are calling on the FIFA leader to step down immediately.
“We shall observe which other nations might align with this position, should it become the official approach of the UEFA executive committee. Rather than requesting an emergency [UEFA] session, we intend to press for his departure directly during our communications with FIFA.”
Klaveness, a trained legal professional, detailed several grievances that Norway’s football association has conveyed to FIFA throughout her four years in office.
These issues included doubts regarding how host nations are selected, the presentation of the first-ever FIFA peace award to US President Donald Trump in December, and the cancellation of a suspension for US striker Folarin Balogun during the latest World Cup after a personal phone call from Trump.
FIFA has been contacted to provide a response.
Concurrently on Friday morning, the Mexican Football Federation parted ways with its regional confederation, CONCACAF, by declaring its allegiance to Infantino.
CONCACAF, the administrative body for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, demanded a thorough investigation of Infantino’s leadership following his decision to scrap proposals for selling tournament equity to commercial firms.
Nonetheless, Mexico, one of the co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup, has chosen to support Infantino’s presidency despite growing demands for his ouster.
“The FMF [Mexican FA] endorses the leadership of President Infantino as he continues to foster the expansion of the sport by reinforcing its institutional framework,” a press release stated.
This stance aligned with a declaration from CONMEBOL, South America’s governing authority, asserting that they would oppose any move to depose Infantino unless it was decided by a vote of all 211 member nations.
At the same time, CONMEBOL did convey its unease regarding “frequent independent actions taken without consulting others or using the established regulatory channels designed for such matters.”
Meanwhile, the football federation of Argentina, runners-up for the 2026 World Cup, commended Infantino for acknowledging and apologizing for his mistakes.
They characterized his ten-year presidency at FIFA as being focused on global football advancement and organizational stability rooted in an open, consistent, and accountable management structure.
While Infantino enjoys full backing from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), he faces strong resistance from Europe’s UEFA and North America’s CONCACAF.
It remains possible that European nations will refuse to play in the World Cup, as UEFA indicated its requirements remain unfulfilled even though Infantino’s commercial proposal was discarded.
UEFA has declared a complete loss of trust in Infantino, describing the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative as a deceptive, secretive, and non-transparent agreement.
England’s Football Association has formally renounced its support for Infantino, joining other nations such as Wales, Albania, and Croatia that have distanced themselves from the current president.
CONCACAF defined Infantino’s plan as a clear indication of a leadership style that no longer prioritizes the sport, adding that this latest unacceptable, single-handed action is part of a broader history of administrative errors and comparable conduct.
Even so, unlike its European counterpart, the North American federation stopped short of formally declaring a complete loss of faith in the FIFA chief.
Prior to Infantino dropping his commercial proposal, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) stated that it was aligned with UEFA and CONCACAF in resisting the initiative.
The process for electing a FIFA president
Under normal circumstances, Infantino would be barred from seeking another term in March.
FIFA regulations restrict a president to serving no more than three four-year terms, yet Infantino is aiming to secure a fourth mandate.
However, because he took over from Sepp Blatter in 2016, his opening term was cut short at three years. He managed to argue successfully that this partial term should be excluded from the limit, granting him eligibility to run once more.
Infantino won uncontested campaigns in 2019 and 2023, and prior to the FFE dispute, he seemed guaranteed to coast to another unopposed victory in 2027.
Opponents of the current chief, including UEFA, are now tasked with identifying a viable rival candidate to challenge him.
Nominees must submit their candidacy along with endorsements from at least five separate member federations by the November 18 deadline.
A confidential vote is scheduled to take place during the 77th FIFA Congress, held in Rabat, Morocco, on March 18.
In a two-candidate race, a simple majority among the 211 voting federations will decide the winner.
If three or more people run, a candidate must secure three-quarters of the votes to win immediately. If no one reaches this target, the candidate receiving the lowest support is eliminated, and a subsequent round of voting begins.
After the contest is narrowed down to the final two contenders, a simple majority will determine the victor.
What are the odds of an Infantino victory?
Barring a successful campaign by UEFA to depose him, the incumbent leader has a seven-month window to solidify his backing.
Historically, Infantino has built this loyalty by traveling extensively across the globe to engage directly with regional delegates.
Upon taking office in 2016, Infantino revealed that UEFA had provided him with €500,000 (£430,000) specifically to cover travel expenses for global lobbying efforts to win over member associations.
Right after a FIFA executive board meeting in Rabat on Wednesday, the president flew to South America to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Colombia’s new head of state, Abelardo de la Espriella.
Another major instrument of influence is the distribution of financial aid to the 211 member associations, a strategy that has consistently secured global allegiance for his leadership.
This funding is particularly critical for developing nations that lack the domestic resources needed to finance local football programs.
Significantly, the current phase of his development fund, FIFA Forward 3.0, concludes this December. This program provided each member country up to $8 million (£5.94 million) over the past four years, marking a 30% increase from the prior period.
The upcoming announcement of FIFA Forward 4.0 is highly likely to boost these funding levels even further.
Consequently, Infantino maintains robust support outside of European jurisdictions and remains the clear frontrunner to win any upcoming election.
UEFA (55 member nations)
These represent his most fervent detractors, although a small number of countries might deviate from the collective stance opposing him.
Africa (54 member nations)
The continent’s governing body has reconfirmed its undivided backing for Infantino.
Asia (46 member nations)
Although the Asian Football Confederation joined UEFA in condemning the FFE initiative, it stayed silent once the project was withdrawn. Up to now, only Jordan—which was already aligned against Infantino—has formally declared its intent to vote against him.
CONCACAF (35 member nations)
This confederation has expressed severe disapproval of Infantino, yet Mexico has already broken ranks to endorse him. Given the high number of smaller islands and territories dependent on FIFA development funds, it is uncertain how unified the rest of this voting block will remain.
Oceania (11 member nations)
The OFC is delaying its official position until an upcoming conference next month, but earlier this year, its leader Lambert Maltock praised Infantino as an outstanding administrator and commended his dedication to youth development.
South America (10 member nations)
While their statement on Thursday essentially warned against future unilateral actions, Infantino can still rely on CONMEBOL’s core backing. Both Argentina and Paraguay are among the member nations that have openly endorsed his bid for re-election.
