GENEVA (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino will be re-elected this week to lead a richer-than-ever soccer body with an ambition to add new and bigger competitions despite growing wariness of him in Europe.
FIFA’s wealth after the World Cup in Qatar — $4 billion in reserves to be shared among the 211 member federations and lots more to come from the expanded 104-game edition in 2026 in North America — is a big reason why Infantino has no opponent on Thursday in Rwanda for four more years in office.
Since Infantino’s first re-election in 2019, two of soccer’s biggest issues were FIFA wanting biennial World Cups and storied clubs wanting a European Super League. Both plans failed.
Infantino pushed hard for more World Cups, a prospect that would directly challenge the European Championship and Copa América and also unsettle the Olympic world. While not publicly backing the Super League, he spoke with rebel clubs and seemed at least sympathetic to them despite the intended disruption of European soccer’s domestic structure.
The governing bodies of European and South American soccer have stopped much of Infantino’s intended empire-building. However, combining for only 65 of 211 votes means they cannot win the presidency alone.