Gianni Infantino laughs in the face of critics and claims ‘vast majority’ support him
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Gianni Infantino laughed in response to a question over whether he had considered resigning as Fifa president as he declared he retains the support of the “vast, vast majority” of world football.
Infantino came under significant pressure this summer following the collapse of his proposals to sell off commercial stakes in the World Cup to private investors under the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan.
After facing calls to resign from Uefa over the proposals, Infantino is planning to stand for re-election in March, while he has also outlined plans for reform within Fifa and last week apologised to members of the Fifa Council.
Infantino’s hopes of re-election received a significant boost this week when the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which had previously supported Uefa’s stance, declared its “full commitment” to supporting him.
The AFC’s apparent U-turn, means Infantino will likely to have enough votes to win an election – while candidates seeking to oppose him have until next month to declare they are standing and no has one currently done so.
Asked by the BBC if he had ever considered standing down following the collapse of the FFE plans, Infantino laughed and said: “Well you know I was elected by 211 member associations from all over the world.
“I think what is important is that in an organisation like Fifa, there can be different views, different points of view.
“But if we are serious about democracy, about the democratic process, about believing that everyone has the same vote and the same voice all over the world, that football belongs to everyone, if we are serious about that, then we need to respect as well the views of the vast, vast majority.
“I’m just coming back off Tokyo where the Asian Football Confederation has fully endorsed me. I was in Cape Verde where all [Confederation of] African [Football] countries have endorsed me. I’m speaking to all associations everywhere in the world.”
Uefa were joined by Concacaf, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, and the AFC in signing an open letter accusing Infantino of breaking trust through “deception” over the FFE plans.
Uefa are also preparing to bring a legal challenge against Infantino in the United States and Infantino conceded that further “dialogue” was needed with European football’s governing body, which has remained committed to opposing the Fifa president.
Infantino also told reporters: “I always said as far as I’m concerned, I’m always there with my arms open, with my mind open, with my heart open to discuss with everyone, to engage with everyone, to see what can be done better for everyone.
“We need to recognise that there are processes, there are democratic processes, and you cannot always make everyone happy everywhere. Unfortunately, I would love to, and I’m trying my best to do that. We try all at Fifa.
“If there are different points of view and different opinions, then we just have to be able to discuss them, to engage, to understand each other, where we are coming from, and maybe sometimes that’s a little bit what is missing, the dialogue, the discussion, the culture of debate, the culture of disagreeing as well.
“There is nothing bad in disagreeing, we see it every day in so many countries in the world. It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to have different points of view, but then we need to be able to move on.”
Infantino was speaking in Baku, Azerbaijan on the opening day of Fifa’s Under-15 World Cup. The tournament features teams from 189 member associations, including Russia – marking their first appearance in a Fifa competition since their invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
