Gianni Infantino Laughs Off Resignation Question and Claims “Vast, Vast Majority” Backing

• Fifa president Gianni Infantino laughed when asked by BBC Sport whether he had considered resigning over the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal.
• He says he has the backing of the “vast, vast majority” of world football and has been “fully endorsed” by the Asian Football Confederation.
• Uefa wants key documents on the plan by 2 November, and Infantino gave no clear answer on when he would hand them over.

The Fifa President Who Will Not Be Moved

Gianni Infantino laughed. Asked by BBC Sport whether he was fit to be Fifa president and whether he had thought about standing down, he did not answer with a yes or a no. “Well you know I was elected by 211 member associations from all over the world,” he said.

The rare interview, given in Baku, was a defiant one. Infantino insisted he has the backing of the “vast, vast majority” of world football and said it was not always easy to bring different points of view “under one roof”. “There is nothing bad in disagreeing,” he said. “It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to have different points of view, but then we need to be able to move on.”

What Triggered the Pressure

Two months ago Infantino faced mounting calls to stand down as head of the organisation he took over in 2016. The heads of Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf signed a letter accusing him of breaking trust “through deception”.

The row centres on the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal. Under it, a portion of the commercial rights of competitions run by Fifa would have been sold to a private investment firm. Infantino scrapped the plan within days. Last week Uefa demanded that Fifa release all key documents on it by 2 November, with Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis saying Fifa had failed to address “a number of fundamental questions”.

Infantino apologised to the Fifa Council last week over the “communication and consultation” around the plan. Council members told him he was not “fit to be Fifa president” if he did not provide the documents they had requested, including the rationale for the proposal.

A Road Trip That Rebuilt His Support

After the letter arrived, Infantino travelled the world. He appeared in Morocco, the Dominican Republic, Cape Verde and Japan, and managed to shore up enough support that his re-election for a fourth term next year now looks inevitable, according to the BBC.

He pointed to those trips in the interview. “I’m just coming back off Tokyo where the Asian Football Confederation has fully endorsed me,” he said. “I was in Cape Verde where all [Confederation of] African [Football] countries have endorsed me. I’m speaking to all associations everywhere in the world.” Asian backing arrived after a U-turn by its president, Sheikh Salman.

Infantino has also proposed to increase the money handed out for football development around the world by $3.4bn (£2.6bn).

No Date for the Documents

Pressed on when he would provide the requested papers, Infantino gave no clear answer. He said Fifa had to follow a “legal process” and was “working on it”. “We’ll answer of course all the questions that are asked as far as the process allows, as far as we can,” he said.

He admitted Fifa has done “some things which are maybe less good” and said he and the administration are doing “as best we can”. He also said Fifa needs to have dialogue “more often” with Uefa to repair a strained relationship.

The democratic argument was his main line of defence. “If we are serious about democracy, about the democratic process, about believing that everyone has the same vote and the same voice all over the world, that football belongs to everyone, if we are serious about that, then we need, to respect as well the views of the vast, vast majority,” he said.

An Election With No Challenger Yet

The deadline for candidates to confirm they are standing against Infantino in March is 18 November. None has filed, and he could stand unopposed.

Infantino spoke at the first Under-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan, which features teams from 189 member associations. England, Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil are all taking part. Russia have also sent a team, their first appearance in a Fifa-sanctioned tournament following the February 2022 suspension of Russian teams by Fifa and Uefa after the invasion of Ukraine.

The matches are played 8v8 on smaller pitches, with 20-minute halves. “It’s just beautiful to bring the world together at such a young age to create something like this,” Infantino said. Uefa’s 2 November deadline for the documents falls before the 18 November cut-off for challengers.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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