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Human rights group wants Infantino excluded from FIFA election
🇩🇪 Germany /Culture & Society

Human rights group wants Infantino excluded from FIFA election

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Human rights organization FairSquare has called for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to be excluded from the March 2027 presidential election.
  • FairSquare argues that Infantino is already in his "third and final" term, as the years 2016-2019 should count towards his term limit.
  • FIFA previously stated that the 2016-2019 period did not count towards Infantino's term limit, a decision FairSquare claims lacks a legal basis.

The human rights organization FairSquare is demanding that FIFA President Gianni Infantino be barred from the upcoming presidential election in March 2027. The organization has communicated its stance in a letter to the world football governing body, asserting that Infantino is currently serving his "third and final" term.

Infantino, who was elected in 2016 and succeeded Sepp Blatter, has already been re-elected twice. FIFA's statutes limit presidents to three terms. However, FIFA announced in 2022 that the period from 2016 to 2019 would not be counted towards Infantino's term limit.

FairSquare contests this interpretation, stating that FIFA has never provided a clear legal justification for excluding those initial years. The organization believes that counting these years would mean Infantino has reached his term limit, making him ineligible for re-election.

third and final

— FairSquareThe human rights organization's description of Gianni Infantino's current term as FIFA president.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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