VANCOUVER.- The hopes of the president of the FIFA, Gianni Infantinoto secure their re-election as head of world football received a strong boost this Thursday, after promises of support from the confederations of Africa and Asia.
The African Football Confederation (CAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) declared that they will support Infantino if, as expected, he runs for a fourth term as top leader of the body that governs football in 2027.
In a brief statement after a meeting prior to the FIFA Congress in vancouver This Thursday, the CAF indicated that it had “unanimously agreed” to support the leader when the FIFA president runs for re-election.
The Asian Football Confederation also promised to support the 56-year-old Swiss-Italian leader.
“FIFA is in its best position in history and we offer our continued and full support to (Infantino) as a candidate for FIFA President for the period 2027-2031, just as the AFC and Asian football have always supported him since his election in 2016,” said AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifain a statement.
The African and Asian confederations have 101 votes in the FIFA presidential election, out of a total of 211.
Infantino has already secured support for his re-election from South American football’s governing body, the Conmebolwhich contributes another 10 votes.
Support and controversies
The football boss assumed the presidency of FIFA in 2016, following the corruption scandal that led to the fall of his predecessor, Joseph “Sepp” Blatter. He was subsequently re-elected to the position in 2019 and 2023.
Although FIFA’s statutes limit its presidents to three terms in office, Infantino can stand for re-election next year after the body ruled that his first partial term, from 2016 to 2019, after Blatter’s dismissal, did not count towards the total.
The leader has been involved in controversies during his administrations due to his close ties with the president of USA, donald trumpwho received the first FIFA Peace Prize during the draw World Cup 2026 in December.
That led last year to the human rights group FairSquare filed a formal complaint with the FIFA ethics committee, considering that the award violates the football body’s rules on political neutrality.
Infantino has also been criticized for initiatives of his administration that have included the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams and the launch last year of the renewed Club World Cup with 32 teams.
The Italian-Swiss leader, however, has recorded record income during his tenure and this year’s World Cup is expected to generate around $13 billion.
Under his management, FIFA has significantly increased the funding distributed to the 211 member associations through its Forward Programme, an initiative aimed at the development of football.
In the 2027-2030 cycle, the body has committed to distributing some $2.7 billion to its members, an eight-fold increase compared to 10 years ago.
