According to RMC, FIFA President Gianni Infantino is under continued pressure and may step down in the coming months due to setbacks in his World Cup commercial plans, while calls for a rotating presidency starting in 2027 are also rising.
The power of the FIFA president may be weakened. Since the end of the 2026 World Cup last July, Infantino has faced criticism for his plans to build a commercial company around the World Cup falling through. As details are revealed in the media, opposition is gathering in Europe, pushing him to withdraw from the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March next year in Morocco.
The opposition is considering several measures to steer FIFA in a direction different from that of Gianni Infantino. One proposal is to rotate the FIFA presidency among the continental football federations, ending the current president's centralized power.
Limiting the power of the FIFA president
In this discussion, particularly within UEFA, the FIFA president may rotate every two years, giving continental football federations the opportunity to lead the organization and drive the implementation of global football policies. A European source familiar with the matter said, "Six months or a year is too short to implement ideas, drive reforms, or provide FIFA with a clear vision." The final term is still to be determined, but it is likely to be roughly two years.
This idea could potentially give all continental football federations greater influence within a limited timeframe. It draws heavily on the EU's rotating presidency system. It could also limit the power of the FIFA president, preventing a repeat of previous instances where commercial company plans were pushed forward without high-level consultation, which sparked strong discontent within FIFA. This concept could also revitalize the FIFA Council, which in recent years has become almost entirely a stamp-issuing body with little real power.
