TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Despite strong pressure for him to resign, particularly from UEFA, Gianni Infantino convinced FIFA's Board of Management to express their full support for him following a crisis meeting in Rabat on Wednesday. It was the latest development in a crisis that began with news last week of a FIFA plan to create a subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to run the men's World Cup and its other events, with a stake of up to 20% to be offered to external investors.
Where did Gianni Infantino come from?
Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino was born on March 23, 1970, in the southwestern Swiss town of Brig to Italian parents. Many years later, as FIFA president, he would speak of the discrimination he said he experienced as he grew up for being of Italian heritage in Switzerland. Infantino studied law at the University of Fribourg, before becoming the general secretary of the International Centre for Sports Studies at the University of Neuchatel in 1997.
What did Infantino do before FIFA?
Infantino, who speaks six languages, first gained notoriety beyond Switzerland after joining UEFA, football's European governing body, in 2000. There, he would climb the corporate ladder to become the organization's general secretary in 2009. Serving under former UEFA President Michel Platini, Infantino's position kept him largely out of the public eye, but during this time his face became a familiar one to European football fans, as one of his roles was hosting the Champions League and Euros draws, broadcast live on TV.
How did Infantino become FIFA president?
The door to the FIFA presidency was knocked open by the 2015 FIFA corruption scandal in which several officials were indicted, seven of whom were arrested at a Zurich hotel. This came just ahead of a FIFA Congress to elect a new president. Although Sepp Blatter won reelection for a fifth term, he announced his resignation just days later. An extraordinary FIFA Congress was called for February 2016.
Infantino looked a rank outsider when he threw his hat into the ring. Platini, his boss at UEFA, was the favorite, but he withdrew his candidacy a month before the election, after both he and Blatter had been banned over ethics violations involving a dubious payment.
In the days leading up to the vote, Sheik Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa of Bahrain emerged as the frontrunner among the seven candidates. However, Infantino, running on a pledge to clean up what was a scandal-ridden organization, won the presidency in the second round of voting. He'd also promised to increase FIFA payments to every member association.
"We will restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA, and everyone in the world will applaud us and will applaud all of you for what we'll do in FIFA in the future," Infantino told the delegates in Zurich's Hallenstadion.
What has Infantino done in power?
Gianni Infantino has presided over a decade of unprecedented growth in revenue for FIFA, culminating in the 2026 World Cup – the first to feature 48 teams and 104 games – compared to 32 teams and 64 games in Qatar four years earlier. This was bound to generate higher revenue, but it was compounded by the dynamic pricing system FIFA introduced for the tournament. This led to sky-high prices for tickets – and FIFA went one better by getting into the secondary market – and taking a 15% cut from both buyer and seller on every transaction.
While the final revenue numbers won't be announced until FIFA publishes its annual report for 2026, the figures are expected to smash the almost $5.8 billion (€5.03) the organization earned in 2022, largely from the Qatar World Cup. Infantino has spoken of a figure around double that. Others believe it could be far higher.
What controversies has he been involved in?
He says he wasn't to blame for a major talking point at the World Cup – the suspension of USA forward Folarin Balogun's red-card ban following his sending off against Bosnia in the round of 32. This followed a call by US President Donald Trump to Infantino to request a "review." Infantino insisted that an independent FIFA body had made the decision.
The hydration breaks, which effectively split games into four quarters, also didn't go over well with many football fans. Others were angry at his refusal to step in on rows over visas for traveling fans, officials and a referee from Somalia and the treatment of the Iran team in the US during the tournament.
Prior to the World Cup 2026, Infantino had made the headlines for the wrong reasons on several occasions. Among his more notable controversies were:
- Ahead of the 2017 FIFA Congress in Bahrain, Infantino removed the chairmen of the Ethics Committee, Hans-Joachim Eckert and Cornel Borbely, without giving reasons.
- A year later he agreed in principle to a deal that would have seen a financial consortium from the Middle East and Asia acquire the rights to the Club World Cup and a global Nations League for a reported $25 billion. The deal never happened.
- In July 2020, the Swiss public prosecutor's office accused Infantino of inciting abuse of office by meeting secretly with the head of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, Michael Lauber. Three years later the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence.
- In a truly cringeworthy ceremony at the World Cup draw in December 2025, Infantino presented US President Donald Trump with the newly created FIFA Peace Prize. This could be seen as the culmination of a widely criticized "bromance" between the FIFA boss and Trump.
Why has Infantino been under such intense pressure to resign?
His problems began with the World Cup sell-off plan. UEFA sharply condemned the news within minutes – before threatening to boycott all FIFA events, including the men's and women's World Cups. After Infantino backed off the plan, UEFA doubled down, saying it had lost confidence in the "current FIFA leadership" and the "task of rebuilding trust in FIFA" had just begun. Football's European governing body also threatened action through its US lawyers over what it termed a "shabby, backroom, opaque deal."
How did he reassert himself?
The FIFA boss summoned senior staff members to an emergency meeting in Rabat on Wednesday. A statement issued after that meeting conceded that "mistakes made were acknowledged" in connection with the private investment plan and that the "process should have been handled differently."
It also said those present had "reaffirmed their full support" for the president and stressed that FIFA would "no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation."
Read: FIFA President Infantino to Stay on After Crisis Meeting
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