From Reformer to Crisis? Gianni Infantino's FIFA Presidency

Despite growing criticism from football associations and mounting scrutiny of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)'s leadership, Gianni Infantino remains in office as President of the world's football body. Yet, for the first time since becoming FIFA President, his position no longer appears unassailable.

My first encounter with Gianni Infantino took place almost fifteen years ago, at the end of 2011, when the Football Federation of Ukraine celebrated its 20th anniversary in Kyiv. The event brought together a number of international football officials as Ukraine was making its final preparations to co-host UEFA Euro 2012 with Poland the following summer. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) President Michel Platini attended the celebrations, accompanied by UEFA Secretary General Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino, known simply as Gianni Infantino. At the time, I was working as a television journalist in Ukraine and had the opportunity to request interviews with both UEFA officials. Platini politely declined, but the future FIFA President agreed almost immediately. From the very beginning, he came across as approachable, open and genuinely interested in answering questions. It was only a brief conversation, but one that left a lasting positive impression.

A Promise to Restore FIFA

Just over four years after our meeting in Kyiv, Gianni Infantino found himself at the centre of world football. In February 2016, the then UEFA Secretary General was elected the ninth President of FIFA following one of the biggest governance crises in the organisation's history. His predecessor at FIFA, Sepp Blatter, had announced his resignation just days after being re-elected in 2015, as the corruption scandal surrounding FIFA escalated. Later that year, both Blatter and former UEFA President Michel Platini received bans from football over what FIFA's Ethics Committee described as an "unjustified payment" of CHF 2 million made to Platini in 2011, a decision that became one of the defining episodes of the scandal. 

Infantino entered the FIFA presidential race as one of five candidates, although South Africa's Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before the vote. The first round failed to produce a winner, with Infantino receiving 88 votes against 85 for Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain. In the decisive second ballot, the Swiss-Italian secured 115 of the 207 votes, comfortably defeating Sheikh Salman, who received 88, while Prince Ali bin Al Hussein collected the remaining four votes. 

His victory speech struck exactly the right tone for an organisation desperate to regain credibility after years of scandal.

"We will restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA, and everyone in the world will applaud us” he stated.

Nearly ten years later, Gianni Infantino's own words remain the fairest way to judge his presidency. Not by the billions FIFA has earned or the tournaments it has created, but by a far simpler question: has he truly restored the image and respect of the world's governing body - or merely replaced one era of controversy with another?

The Price of Growth

On paper, Gianni Infantino's presidency has been an undeniable financial success. When he took office in 2016, FIFA was still recovering from the corruption scandal that had shaken the organisation to its core. In 2015, it reported annual revenue of $1.15 billion and a loss of $122 million. By the end of the 2015-2018 financial cycle, however, FIFA had generated a record $6.42 billion in revenue.

The financial momentum has continued ever since. In 2025, FIFA reported annual revenue of $2.66 billion, including more than $1 billion from broadcasting rights and $411 million from ticketing and hospitality. For the current 2023-2026 cycle, FIFA expects to generate $13 billion in revenue, more than double the amount recorded during the 2015-2018 cycle, with $8.9 billion projected to come from the 2026 FIFA World Cup alone.

Some of that money has unquestionably benefited football. The expanded FIFA Club World Cup (held in the US the year before of 2026 FIFA World Cup) carried a record $1 billion prize fund, while another $250 million was allocated through a global solidarity programme for clubs that did not participate.

Financially, therefore, it is difficult to argue that Infantino has failed. The question is whether football has benefited to the same extent as FIFA's balance sheet.

Football Never Stops

Perhaps nothing illustrates that dilemma better than the expanded FIFA Club World Cup.

For decades, the competition was a relatively short tournament involving the continental champions. Under Infantino, it was transformed into a month-long event featuring 32 clubs and 63 matches, held in the United States during June and July.

From FIFA's perspective, the tournament was a commercial success. It attracted new broadcasting agreements, record prize money and another flagship competition for the organisation's growing portfolio. Financially, the tournament delivered exactly what FIFA had hoped.

For many players and coaches, however, it represented something entirely different.

The International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO) warned before the tournament that the expanded calendar would significantly reduce players' recovery time after an already demanding season, increasing the risk of injuries and mental fatigue. The dispute went beyond public criticism. In 2024, FIFPRO Europe member unions launched legal action over FIFA's decision to introduce the competition without what they described as meaningful consultation with players' representatives.

Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp was even more outspoken, describing the new Club World Cup as the "worst idea ever implemented in football" because of its impact on player workload.

His criticism highlights a dilemma that has become increasingly difficult to ignore. Every additional tournament creates new commercial opportunities for FIFA, but it also places greater demands on the same players expected to perform at the highest level throughout the year. Surely it must be on FIFA's shoulders the responsibility to get the balance right?

The expanded Club World Cup is unlikely to be the end of that process. The men's FIFA World Cup itself grew from 32 to 48 teams in 2026, increasing the number of matches from 64 to 104. FIFA argued that expansion makes the game more inclusive by giving more countries, clubs and players the opportunity to compete, while also generating additional revenue that can be redistributed across world football. Critics, however, argue that it creates another commercial product capable of generating billions of dollars in broadcasting and sponsorship income, while raising further questions about player welfare and an increasingly congested calendar.

Whether one supports or opposes these reforms largely depends on perspective. Yet the debate is no longer limited to the number of teams or matches. Increasingly, it centres on how some of football's biggest decisions are made and whether FIFA is consulting the organisations and stakeholders expected to live with the consequences. That debate reached its climax only weeks after the Club World Cup concluded.

A Crisis of Leadership

For almost a decade, Gianni Infantino appeared politically untouchable. Despite criticism over the expansion of competitions, the crowded international calendar and FIFA's increasingly commercial approach, few openly challenged his leadership. The organisation's growing revenues and generous financial support for its 211 member associations ensured he retained overwhelming backing across world football.

That changed in the space of a single week.

We must remember, however, that before the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicked off, there were dissenting voices about hydration breaks being introduced, dressed up and presented as protecting player welfare when playing in high temperatures, but these were also enacted in air-conditioned stadia; there was the controversy over Infantino awarding US President Donald Trump a new award labelled the "FIFA Peace Prize", and then there was the issue during the tournament of President Trump admitting that he asked Infantino to have a US player's red card rescinded. Apart from that last issue, once the football started, most of the off-field issues had been forgotten, or at least off the front pages.

Then, at the end of July 2026, FIFA unveiled plans to create a new commercial company to manage the FIFA World Cup and other competitions, proposing to sell a 20% stake to private investors in a deal expected to raise around $4.2 billion. In return, FIFA promised each of its 211 member associations $40 million if they approved the proposal before 19 September 2026.

Instead of securing support, the plan triggered the biggest governance crisis of Infantino's presidency.

UEFA unanimously rejected the proposal and threatened to boycott all FIFA competitions if it proceeded. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) criticised FIFA for failing to consult its members, while Concacaf rejected the proposal over what it described as a lack of transparency and due process. FIFPRO, European Leagues and several national associations also voiced strong opposition.

It appears that other members of the FIFA leadership were not aware of the proposal and learned about it from the media, and it was being driven by Infantino.

Only three days after unveiling the project, FIFA formally abandoned it.

The backlash did not end there. Following a hastily-convened  meeting of FIFA's leadership in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday 6 August, FIFA issued an apology to its member associations, acknowledging that the process had been handled incorrectly and admitting that member associations and FIFA Council members should never have felt excluded from such an important decision. The governing body also promised to review its internal procedures.

Although FIFA's leadership publicly reaffirmed its support for Infantino, the political damage had already been done. Reuters reported that several European associations withdrew their backing for the Swiss-Italian, while UEFA declared it had lost confidence in his leadership. Former Portugal captain Luís Figo called on Infantino to resign, and UEFA Vice-President Laura McAllister described the situation as a leadership crisis.

Even inside FIFA, the proposal exposed unusual divisions. According to Reuters, senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned over the plan, calling it "a bad deal for football," while Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour reportedly described it as "the project of one person."

When I met Gianni Infantino in Kyiv almost fifteen years ago, I saw an administrator who seemed genuinely willing to listen. Nearly a decade after promising to restore FIFA's image and reputation, he now faces the most serious challenge of his presidency. The next FIFA presidential election, scheduled to take place at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March 2027, may ultimately determine whether the organisation's 211 member associations still believe he is the right person to lead world football into the next decade.