“Vote of no confidence could force the FIFA president out”
UEFA, the Football Confederation of Asia (AFC) and CONCACAF are considering taking the final step to kick Gianni Infantino out of FIFA, following the president’s controversial plans to sell rights to the World Cup.
Infantino has created waves of anger by announcing plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to broadcasters through an initiative called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE). The moves have caused several of the world’s football federations to withdraw their support for the Swiss FIFA chief.
Read: Liverpool sell the player fans love
Now it may be over.
Vote of no confidence in sight
According to TalkSPORT, the three confederations are considering initiating a vote of no confidence against Infantino. According to FIFA’s statutes, an extraordinary congress can be convened if 43 of FIFA’s 211 member associations submit a written request.
UEFA alone, with its 55 votes, has enough numbers to trigger a vote of no confidence. But to succeed, it needs the support of a majority of FIFA’s members. UEFA (55), CONCACAF (35) and AFC (46) have a combined 136 out of 211 votes – but no guarantee that everyone will follow through.
England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have already withdrawn their support for Infantino. However, Mexico has broken CONCACAF’s ranks by supporting the FIFA president, while Argentina and Morocco have also pledged their support to him.
Asia could be decisive
Asia is considered the most important battlefield for both Infantino and his eventual opponents. The AFC has publicly opposed Infantino’s leadership, but many Asian nations have yet to make their stance public.
Several wealthy Gulf states – including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE – support Infantino. The Qatar Football Association has even criticized the AFC for taking a position without consulting its members.
– What consultation was carried out with AFC’s member associations before the statement was issued in their common name? Qatari President Sheikh Hamid bin Khalifa Al-Thani wrote in a letter to the AFC Executive Committee.
“AFC’s response does not identify a single member association that was consulted.
Lineker’s prediction could come true
Already in 2016, Gary Lineker predicted that Infantino would not be better than his corrupt predecessor Sepp Blatter. Now it seems that the prediction may come true.
The 51-year-old Infantino has previously seemed unassailable with no real rivals for his office. But now, with nations withdrawing support, and with three confederations considering a vote of no confidence, his position of power may be unraveling.
Without a clear challenger in place, Asia could be decisive for whether a vote of no confidence has any chance of succeeding. One thing is for sure: the battle for the FIFA top has just become far more interesting.
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