Infantino Faces Renewed Pressure from Greek FA and Bierhoff

FIFA President Gianni Infantino faced renewed pressure after Greek Football Association president Makis Gagatsis and former Germany national team director Oliver Bierhoff endorsed UEFA’s call for a leadership change at FIFA. This was reported by Reuters.

Gagatsis stated that the Greek FA had taken a definitive stance against Infantino’s re-election bid during a UEFA Executive Committee meeting held in Thessaloniki, Greece. He highlighted the unacceptable incidents that occurred at the World Cup, reinforcing that the Greek FA opposed Infantino’s earlier plan to sell World Cup rights to private investors, which had led them to withdraw their support.

In August, FIFA abandoned the controversial proposal to sell a commercial stake in the World Cup to private investors, following significant backlash from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, and CONCACAF. Despite this setback, FIFA leaders reaffirmed their support for Infantino during a crisis meeting in Morocco.

Bierhoff, who directed Germany’s national football team for 18 years until 2022, expressed concerns about the need to protect football’s integrity from decisions that could damage trust in its governance. He noted that recent events had eroded confidence in FIFA, saying, “We have to take care of football. It is already commercial but it is a property for all of football.”

UEFA has been a vocal critic of Infantino and is demanding a leadership change as he prepares to seek re-election in March 2027. However, Reuters reported last week that Infantino is expected to have sufficient votes for re-election, prompting his opponents to reevaluate their strategies. The deadline for opposition candidates to emerge is mid-November, but as of now, no clear contenders have surfaced.

Jesper Moller, the Danish football chief and UEFA Executive Committee member, mentioned that he would collaborate with European colleagues to find a suitable candidate capable of securing a majority vote. The situation has become more precarious for Infantino after multiple European football associations, including France, Belgium, England, and Italy, withdrew their support amid the fallout from the abandoned investment plan.