FIFA president Gianni Infantino is expected to serve a fourth term after securing the support of well over 200 of the governing body’s member associations for next year’s presidential election.
Sources have revealed that only a handful of the 211 associations are yet to submit letters supporting Infantino for the position, with one of the more notable ones to have abstained from officially backing the president to date being Germany.
FIFA presidents need to be nominated to stand, with that deadline falling in November, but, as yet, there has been no challenge to Infantino, who will almost certainly retain his position, as reported by The Athletic.
Despite the upcoming election, there has been backlash and growing unrest regarding Infantino and FIFA’s organisation of several contentious moments during the 2026 World Cup, not least the incident which saw U.S. Forward Folarin Balogun’s suspension lifted after intervention from the US president, Donald Trump.
The incident caused tensions amongst a number of the European federations, and UEFA has raised objections about various issues, including Somalia’s referee, Omar Artan, not being included in the competition.
Infantino has the overwhelming support of all but a few FIFA members outside of Europe and is expected to cruise to another victory. This weekend, FIFA’s annual Congress is set to take place in New York.
Here, members are expected to be predominantly focusing on the financial side of the competition, along with development funding for members, as opposed to some of the more controversial aspects of the latest World Cup.
