By Bae Jun-yong
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who pushed for and then withdrew the privatization of World Cup hosting rights, is sinking deeper into a quagmire. Even political circles in North America, which had closely cooperated with Infantino, appear to be turning their backs on him.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a co-host country of the FIFA World Cup in North America, openly criticised Infantino on the 5th (local time), calling his recent actions “fatal” and stating, “I clearly do not trust President Infantino.”
Observers note that Infantino’s “honeymoon relationship” with U.S. President Donald Trump is also waning. U.S. media, including the New York Post, reported that Infantino recently attempted to contact President Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to request support but failed.
European football circles continue to escalate their offensive against Infantino. The European Leagues, a consortium of major leagues including the English Premier League (EPL), Spanish La Liga, and Italian Serie A, issued a statement declaring, “We will completely refuse to expand or establish new tournaments until FIFA reforms its governance.” This marks opposition to Infantino’s push to expand the World Cup to 64 teams.
Infantino, however, appears to have succeeded in consolidating internal FIFA support. Following a meeting on the 5th, FIFA’s leadership announced, “We have reaffirmed our full support for President Infantino.” Regarding the subsidiary company issue, they stated, “We acknowledge the mistakes made during the proposal process and have apologised to member nations.”
The outlook for the next FIFA presidential election in March 2027 remains foggy. Before the FIFA World Cup in North America, Infantino was known to have secured support from more than half of the 211 member nations. However, dissatisfaction is now spreading not only in Europe and North/Central America but also in South America and Asia, regions that had previously been favourable toward him.
PHOTO: FIFA President Infantino Faces Growing Backlash from Global Allies
