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FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing growing resistance from three of world football's six continental confederations as the 2027 presidential race draws closer, putting both his electoral support and his authority inside the organization under renewed pressure.
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Concacaf, which oversee football in Europe, Asia, and North and Central America and the Caribbean, sharply stepped up their confrontation with FIFA on Monday. In a joint statement, they accused FIFA's leadership of a "fundamental breach of trust" and "deception" over the handling of an abandoned proposal to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup to private investors.
The three confederations rejected the idea that the dispute could be put down simply to poor communication or procedural mistakes. Instead, they described the episode as a serious failure of judgment and called for an independent review.
The clash comes at a politically sensitive point for Infantino, who announced in May that he would seek another term in 2027, with the nomination deadline approaching in November.
Despite the resistance from three confederations, their opposition does not automatically translate into enough votes to block Infantino.
FIFA has 211 member associations, each holding one vote in presidential elections. National football associations therefore vote individually rather than through their continental confederations, leaving Infantino with an opportunity to build up support country by country.
However, Herve Verhoosel, a former senior U.N. official who writes and comments on FIFA governance, told Anadolu that the political calculation surrounding those votes has changed significantly.
Once a confederation publicly declares a "fundamental breach of trust" with FIFA's leadership, Verhoosel said, it becomes much harder for individual associations, particularly smaller ones, to simply take the opposite position.
"They still have their vote. But the political cost of that vote has changed," he said.
For Verhoosel, the central question is therefore no longer limited to whether Infantino can gather enough votes to stay in office.
"A president may still be able to assemble enough individual votes to survive. But surviving a vote and retaining the political authority to lead are not the same thing," he said.
He argued that if a substantial part of FIFA no longer trusts its leadership, major decisions could increasingly turn into confrontations between rival blocs.
"That is not sustainable—and, more importantly, it is not in the interests of world football," Verhoosel said.
Mark Pieth, the former chair of FIFA's Independent Governance Committee, also described the situation as "very serious," saying Infantino could still try to survive politically by securing votes from individual national associations.
Pieth, however, pointed to Infantino's handling of relations with member associations, including a recent dispute involving Jordan Football Association President Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, a former FIFA vice president.
Prince Ali accused FIFA and Infantino last week of "blackmail," saying Jordan had faced unresolved issues involving World Cup-related costs and unpaid Arab Cup prize money. He alleged that he was verbally told during the World Cup that endorsing Infantino would "go a long way" toward helping the Jordanian association.
Jordan, which qualified for its first World Cup in 2026, had not previously endorsed Infantino. Prince Ali said it would not do so.
Two days after making the allegation, Prince Ali said FIFA had paid the outstanding prize money owed to Jordan's players and coaching staff. While welcoming the payment, he said it did not change his concerns about FIFA's leadership and maintained that Jordan would neither endorse nor vote for Infantino.
FIFA did not publicly comment on the blackmail allegation.
Pieth said Infantino had "acted disrespectfully, including to many non-European associations."
"This is one reason why he has lost the support of Asia," he added.
The AFC's involvement in the confrontation is particularly significant because the Asian confederation had backed Infantino when he announced his intention to seek re-election earlier this year.
With UEFA, AFC and Concacaf now challenging FIFA's leadership, half of the organization's continental confederations are openly at odds with the president.
Infantino's political future will nevertheless be decided by FIFA's national associations rather than the confederations themselves, giving him room to rebuild alliances before the 2027 election.
Yet with the nomination deadline approaching in November, the issue facing FIFA is becoming broader than whether Infantino can assemble enough votes for another term. The growing divide is also raising the question of whether a president facing open resistance from half of FIFA's continental confederations can retain enough trust and political authority to govern world football.
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