FIFA President Infantino Faces Criticism, Support Divided Among Football Federations

FIFA President Gianni Infantino intends to run for re-election in March 2027, aiming to extend his tenure until 2031 amidst a brewing power struggle within world football. This comes after a failed investor deal concerning World Cup rights, prompting various football associations to voice their opinions on Infantino's leadership.

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Assurances must be given that such attempts to distort football will never be undertaken again.

UEFA, the European football governing body, continues to uphold its threat of boycotting the World Cup. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin stated that assurances are needed to prevent "such attempts to distort football" from recurring. The organization has declared it has lost confidence in Infantino, dismissing the support he receives from employees whose careers depend on him. Some European member associations, like Serbia and Wales, have withdrawn their prior endorsements, while Norway's football federation has called for Infantino's immediate resignation.

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The announcement yesterday that some employees of the FIFA president, whose careers depend on his favor, agree with him does not change that.

In contrast, African football federations, which hold significant political power within FIFA, have unanimously reaffirmed their support for Infantino. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) expressed its backing after a FIFA meeting in Morocco, highlighting a clear division in support for the Swiss president, who has been in office since 2016.

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We, as the Mut District Management, have not hesitated to state that we do not recognize Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who took the presidential seat with the annulment decision, as our president.