Fifa chief Gianni Infantino has announced that he will run for re-election in 2027 after leading global football for ten years. Elected in 2016, re-elected in 2019 and 2023, the 56-year-old Italian-Swiss confirmed his candidacy, supported by many considerations, ahead of the first World Cup with 48 teams, jointly hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
According to Fifa statutes, the instance’s head can serve a maximum of three terms. Infantino was officially considered to start his second term in 2023, after his first term began in 2016 following the corruption allegations against his predecessor Sepp Blatter.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced their support for his re-election, giving him a total of 101 votes out of 211, with additional support from South Africa.
Infantino, at the helm since 2016, has faced controversies, especially recently due to his close ties with US President Donald Trump and awarding him the first FIFA Peace Prize. This led to a complaint by FairSquare to the Fifa ethics committee.
While Infantino has faced criticism for expanding the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams starting in 2026, he has significantly increased Fifa’s revenue to $13 billion at the end of the four-year cycle.
For the 2027-2030 cycle, Fifa has committed to distributing around $2.7 billion to its members, eight times more than a decade ago, through the Fifa Forward program.
