Football Has Spoken: Many Want Fifa Boss Gianni Infantino to Step Down

Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa — the organization that runs world soccer — is under serious pressure to resign. Just days after the World Cup ended, his plan to sell shares of the tournament to private investors fell apart. Three major soccer organizations rejected his proposal, and even some of his closest allies turned against him.

Infantino had been working on his plan for more than a year. He wanted to sell stakes — meaning partial ownership rights — in the World Cup and other Fifa tournaments to private investors. Critics said the plan was rushed, secretive, and unfair. Europe's soccer body, Uefa, called the deal 'shabby' and said it was 'anything but transparent.'

Uefa made a bold move and threatened to boycott the World Cup if Infantino pushed the plan through. That threat had a big effect. Two other major soccer groups, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, also rejected the proposals. With so many powerful groups against him, Infantino gave up and canceled the plan early on Saturday morning.

The pressure did not stop there. Carlos Cordeiro, a top adviser who had worked closely with Infantino for a long time, quit his job in protest. He said he understood 'the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away,' meaning he believed selling parts of the World Cup was a mistake. When someone that close to the Fifa president walks away, it shows just how serious the situation has become.

Infantino had also tried to use money to win support. He told smaller nations they could receive $40 million if they backed his plan, but only $10 million if they said no. The idea was to pressure countries that really needed the money to vote his way. Even so, those countries stood firm alongside Uefa, the AFC, and Concacaf, forming a group of about 150 member associations that would have easily defeated his plan in a vote.

The AFC's leader, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, was one of the loudest critics outside of Europe. This was surprising because Asia is set to host the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, and the region has received a lot of support from Infantino in the past. His strong criticism showed that the opposition to Infantino's plan reached far and wide. Concacaf also held its own emergency meeting and confirmed it had rejected the proposals.

Now many people are asking whether Infantino should stay as Fifa president at all. The writer of the original article believes Infantino must go, saying a leader who puts money and politics above the sport has no place running world football. Uefa went even further, saying Infantino's actions were not just 'a profound failure of leadership' but also an abandonment of Fifa's duty to protect the game.

Still, stepping down is unlikely to happen on its own. Infantino has shown he plans to keep moving forward — he was already working on expanding the next World Cup to 64 teams even while the crisis was unfolding. His critics are now being urged to take action and find a candidate to run against him when Fifa holds its presidential election in March next year.

Several names have come up as possible challengers. Uefa's own president, Alexander Ceferin, is seen as an obvious choice since he has been a strong opponent of Infantino's ideas. Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi has also been mentioned as someone who could attract support. Lise Klaveness, the president of the Football Association of Norway, has been speaking out against Infantino for a long time and deserves credit for doing so before it became popular.

Infantino's plan to sell the World Cup may be dead for now, but that does not mean his hold on power is broken. For those who want change, this moment is a rare chance to push for a fairer future for the sport. The rejection of his proposal, many say, should also become the rejection of the man himself.