Gianni Infantino is on track to win a third term despite his global reputation taking a hit over his scuppered plans for a billion-dollar football investment fund.
The 56-year-old Swiss official has been met with opposition from a number of football bodies since shelving his proposal for a FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial subsidiary to handle big tournaments like the World Cup.
But he still retains strong backing from Africa and South America, perhaps providing him with an edge in next March’s election.
AFP reports that opponents have failed to find a suitable candidate, after the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and CONCACAF chief Victor Montagliani apparently decided to run for a second term in their respective posts.
All candidates shall file their candidature before the elections, by 18 November.
Indeed, Terrence Burns, a marketing strategist involved in successful bidding processes for the World Cup, thinks Infantino is still in a good place.
“He’s always held the cards, and always will,” Burns said in an interview with AFP.
Former International Olympic Committee marketing boss Michael Payne said he was surprised there had been no more serious contenders.
“If he wins, which seems to be more and more likely, it will be a whole new meaning to the definition of Houdini,” Payne said.
Legal Challenges May Threaten Infantino’s Campaign
Infantino is now also under law enforcement investigation in the US and in formal reports to FIFA committees.
The Norwegian football federation, led by Lise Klaveness, expressed disapproval of the FFE project and Infantino’s ties to US President Donald Trump.
Kushner’s venture capital firm was said to have been the lead investor in the project.
In the United States, UEFA have already taken legal action seeking to extract documents from the proposal, a case that FIFA is fighting.
Burns raised concerns over the lack of transparency about the project that may lead to issues for Infantino.
Meanwhile, Payne warned that others such as Spain, France and England not getting behind the move, “risk tearing the game apart even further”.
However, Burns feels the opposition may at the end of the day be prepared to accept Infantino. Which could mean he ends up wielding even more power.
The FIFA presidential election is in March, and there is the coming months before we will know if a legitimate rival is afoot.
