Infantino secures backing from Africa, Asia, South America ahead of 2027 vote
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has led the world football governing body for ten years, announced in Vancouver that he will run for re-election in 2027, AFP reports.
Elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2019 and 2023, the 56-year-old Italian-Swiss official used the FIFA Congress to “confirm” his candidacy, as several federations have already expressed their support, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.
Infantino made the announcement six weeks before the first World Cup featuring 48 teams, to be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
According to FIFA statutes, the head of the organization cannot serve more than three terms. However, at the 2023 Elective Congress in Kigali, it was officially considered that Infantino had begun only his second term, as his first mandate, which started in 2016 following the fall of his predecessor Sepp Blatter amid corruption allegations, was deemed “incomplete” and therefore not counted toward the term limit.
The Confederation of African Football and the Asian Football Confederation announced their support for his re-election, giving him a total of 101 votes out of 211. Infantino has also secured the 10 votes from South America.
Since taking charge of world football in 2016, Infantino has faced numerous controversies, particularly in recent months due to his close ties with Donald Trump, to whom he awarded the first FIFA Peace Prize. The decision, made in December 2025, prompted the association FairSquare to file a complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee.
He has also been criticized for expanding the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams starting with the 2026 edition. However, his proposal to hold the tournament every two years instead of every four ultimately failed.
On the other hand, Infantino can point to a significant increase in FIFA revenues, estimated at $13 billion by the end of the four-year cycle concluding after the 2026 World Cup.
For the 2027–2030 cycle, FIFA has also committed to distributing approximately $2.7 billion to its members—eight times more than a decade ago—through its FIFA Forward program.
Photo: FIFA
