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These countries publicly support Infantino, and these are against

Gianni Infantino's future as FIFA president is in question. Dissatisfaction is growing every day, but the head still has supporters.

Lionel Messi, Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump during the presentation of silver medals to Argentina. Photo: Julio Cortez / AP

24 football federations publicly supported him, writes sports.ru.

Here's who publicly supported Infantino

Eight participants of the 2026 World Cup: Argentina, Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, DR Congo, Mexico, South Africa and Paraguay.

In addition, Nigeria, UAE, Djibouti, Comoros, Mauritania, Kuwait, Niger, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Lebanon, Bhutan, Mongolia, Philippines, Gambia, Uganda, Malawi, Sudan and Bangladesh.

But in the case of South Africa, Infantino was supported by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, not the football federation.

Six heads of Arab associations, including 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar and 2030 World Cup co-organizer Morocco, issued a joint statement. It was also signed by the heads of the federations of Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Mauritania. Four of the six signatories — Qatari Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Moroccan Hani Abo Rida and the head of the Mauritanian football department Ahmed Yahya — are also members of the FIFA Council.

“We deeply appreciate Mr. Infantino’s ongoing efforts to develop football worldwide, expand opportunities in all regions, and strengthen the game’s role in uniting people and communities. We look forward to continuing close cooperation with him to build a stronger and more prosperous future for global football, expand opportunities, and further increase the contribution of Arab football on the global arena,” the joint statement reads. Obviously, it is politically advantageous for them to keep Infantino.

Small federations (e.g., Comoros, Uganda, and Malawi) explicitly explain: they need money. They believe that with Gianni, the chances of funding are higher.

Who is against Infantino? More than half of the organizations

British BBC Sport tried to divide the camps.

More than half — presumably against. Exactly — 19 members (among them Germany and England).

Vote distribution:

  • Europe — 55;
  • Africa — 54;
  • Asia — 46;
  • North America — 35;
  • Oceania — 11;
  • South America — 10.

Nepal, the 211th FIFA member, is currently suspended and has no voting rights — so it's excluded. BBC accounted for 210 associations.

The lineup is as follows: 124 votes — likely against Infantino; 73 votes — likely for Infantino. Plus 13 who have not yet decided. Of course, these are not final figures. Everything can still change in the coming months.

The election of the new FIFA president will take place on March 18, 2027. If one opponent runs against Infantino, 106 votes are needed. If there are more than three candidates, two-thirds of the votes are needed in the first round, and a simple majority in the second.

Who is against Infantino — besides UEFA?

Most dissatisfied is UEFA, which has promised, along with national associations and other confederations, to investigate how the project of selling part of the World Cup rights even reached the implementation stage.

Together with CONCACAF (Federation of North and Central American countries) and the Asian Federation, Europe signed a letter with harsh criticism of Gianni.

But in Asia, it's not that simple: Qatar, UAE, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Bhutan support Infantino in the upcoming elections. Moreover, many Asian federations have not yet spoken out (important Saudi Arabia is still silent), and UEFA plans to secure their support.

The Oceania Football Confederation, with 11 national associations, has not yet decided its stance on Infantino. Although New Zealand association representative Andrew Pragnell called on Oceania countries to take a "unified position." In North America, many are also against, but not all: Mexico spoke out for Gianni. But in the USA, Donald Trump's friend was not supported, unlike Trump himself, who called what was happening "a big mistake."

However, South America and Africa are on Gianni's side: the former opposed the deal but remain supporters of the president, while Africa is unequivocally in favor. It was even reported that Infantino would give Morocco the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support. But FIFA denied everything.

It will still be difficult to oust Infantino. He is not going to back down

UEFA's unified position is not enough to defeat Infantino. Each national association has one vote. Therefore, Germany, England, France, or Spain have the same weight as small island federations, which receive a significant part of their budget through FIFA programs.

Infantino built a political system based on redistributing revenues in favor of small countries. For many associations, he remains the leader under whom football funding has significantly increased. As long as the African Football Confederation and CONMEBOL [unites the federations of South American countries, excluding Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana] remain loyal, Europe must find a candidate capable of gaining support at least in Asia or CONCACAF.

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani is most often mentioned as a possible opponent. Reuters reported that he is considering participating in the elections, but has not yet officially nominated his candidacy.

There is also a more radical path. An extraordinary FIFA congress can be demanded with the support of 43 associations. Theoretically, Europe alone has enough votes for this.

Such a congress could turn into a full-fledged attempt to pass a vote of no confidence in the president. According to The Guardian, individual members of the FIFA Council discussed a similar scenario even before the final collapse of FIFA Forward Enterprise.

Infantino has no intention of backing down. He still controls the FIFA apparatus, personally works with federations, and enjoys the support of a significant portion of the football world. However, he no longer looks like the only candidate.

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