Infantino’s presidency under threat: FIFA elections, challengers, dates

Published On 25 Aug 202625 Aug 2026.

Key points

• The FIFA chief first met Trump at the White House in 2018 after the US was awarded the co-hosting rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• The FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup is less than two weeks away, with the tournament kicking off on September 5 in Poland.
• The investor group was led by Joshua Kushner, an American businessman who is additionally the younger brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
• The candidates will face off in a poll involving all 211 FIFA member nations, with 106 votes required to pick a winner.
• Nevertheless, in 2022, Infantino successfully argued that his first spell in charge.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, at present the most powerful man in world football, appears to be pulling out all the stops in a bid to retain his position despite growing calls for his ouster and wide-ranging disapproval of his aims.

In practice, the 56-year-old has been in charge of FIFA for over 10 years and is seen as a divisive figure in international football, with his close ties to some of the most powerful global leaders and intends for maximising revenue from football viewed as a threat to the game.

With a little over six months until the next round of elections for FIFA's presidency, Infantino appears to be losing ground among his usual backers in national football federations and regional confederations.

Here's a look at where Infantino stands in terms of backing and what challenges lie ahead for him and FIFA. Why is Infantino being challenged as FIFA president?

While the Swiss head of FIFA has never been a widely popular figure with football fans, he has enjoyed backing amongst leading figures in the sport and global leaders.

This popularity, nevertheless, has waned over the past few months, especially since making no secret of his close ties with United States President Donald Trump and announcing FIFA's aims to privatise the World Cup so as to maximise revenue from the tournament.

Notably, the FIFA chief first met Trump at the White House in 2018 after the US was awarded the co-hosting rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Infantino has since created a number of public appearances with the US president, including at the so-called Summit for Peace in Egypt in October 2025.

When he handed the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to the US president at the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw held at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC, infantino was the target of widespread scathing criticism in December.

When he invited private investors to purchase a stake in future profits from World Cups and all FIFA events, the final blow to the global football chief's position came in the days after the World Cup. The investor group was led by Joshua Kushner, an American businessman who is additionally the younger brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

While the ensuing backlash – which included pledges by European nations to boycott FIFA events and claims from senior staff that Infantino deceived everyone – led Infantino to announce Friday that he was abandoning the plan, irreparable damage had already been to his reputation.

He now faces a race against time to garner backing in his push for an extraordinary fourth term as president. How plenty of terms can one FIFA president have?

FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office, with each term lasting four years.

Nevertheless, in 2022, Infantino successfully argued that his first spell in charge. It began when he was elected at an extraordinary FIFA Congress ⁠in 2016 after Sepp Blatter's resignation, should not count towards that limit since it completed an interrupted mandate.

His intends to run for a fourth term have been questioned by critics and rights groups. This person have asked FIFA's Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) to block Infantino's re-election bid.

What are the key dates for FIFA elections and how do they work?

For context, the polls to elect FIFA's next president will be held at the global governing body's next congress. It is slated for March 18, 2027 in Rabat, Morocco.

All challengers vying for the post must declare their candidacy by November 18.

Meanwhile, the candidates will face off in a poll involving all 211 FIFA member nations, with 106 votes required to pick a winner.

Who are the probable candidates to challenge Infantino for the FIFA presidency?

European football (UEFA) chief Aleksander Ceferin has ruled himself out from the running and no individuals have confirmed their aims to challenge Infantino openly.

Nevertheless, a number of regional FIFA confederation chiefs and some other powerful figures in global football have been tipped as potential candidates. They are. How has Infantino reacted to the challenge?

Notably, the FIFA chief has been scrambling to gather backing and has produced public appearances despite having being advised to maintain a low profile. He was asked by Montagliani to skip an Under-14 football event in the Caribbean last week but Infantino posted photos on his Instagram account, showing his session with political and football office-holders from the Dominican Republic.

For context, the move was seen as an attempt to seek backing from the regional football office-holders, but a FIFA statement quoted Infantino as saying: "It's important to engage, to have a dialogue, to express views and opinions – a lot been happening in the last few weeks and it's important that you hear, you listen and you're able to, also, express what your feelings are."

Infantino's latest public appearance was in France on Monday, where he attended the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais in Paris and was seated besides French President Emmanuel Macron and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. Which national football federations and regional confederations are backing Infantino?

Despite the ongoing crisis, Infantino has discovered longstanding backing from the African confederation, with CAF's top decision-making body late siding with the ⁠FIFA president.

Mexico and Argentina have additionally put their weight behind him, with South America's CONMEBOL football governing body issuing a statement this month to reject any attempt to oust Infantino that did not involve a vote of all 211 members. When is the next major FIFA tournament?

For context, the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup is less than two weeks away, with the tournament kicking off on September 5 in Poland.

While UEFA issued a statement earlier this month saying its 55-member association remains committed to boycotting FIFA competitions, the competition is slated to go ahead as scheduled.

In short, infantino's presidency under threat: FIFA elections, challengers, dates is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.