FIFA President is running for election: Infantino hasn't had enough yet

dpa | Fifa President Gianni Infantino, who is under massive pressure, will stand for re-election next year. “The FIFA President announced in April that he would stand for re-election in 2027. Of course nothing has changed,” said a spokeswoman for the world football governing body. “Mr. Infantino will run for re-election.”

Before the opening of the U20 Women's World Cup in Poland on Saturday, Infantino had responded evasively to questions about his future. When a journalist asked him whether he would definitely stand for election, he left the group smiling but raising his thumb. Infantino watched Poland's opening game against Argentina in Katowice, which the hosts won 3-0.

“There will be a lot to say, but there will be the right place and the right time for it,” the FIFA boss also announced in Katowice. Just one day later there was a statement that cleared up the ambiguity.

Infantino has come under extreme pressure in recent months and is in the biggest crisis of his era. In particular, his publicized and now withdrawn plans to involve investors for future World Cup transactions caused outrage in the football world.

Although the plans are now off the table, Infantino remains controversial. The European Football Union Uefa wants to prevent Infantino's re-election at the Fifa Congress next March. UEFA boss Aleksander Čeferin is considered one of Infantino's harshest critics. The Slovenian himself had announced that he would not challenge the 56-year-old. The application deadline is November 18th. Infantino has held the position since 2016.

UEFA is preparing criminal proceedings over the investor deal on suspicion of unfaithful business management. This means that someone who is entrusted with the management of someone else's assets or business violates their duties and thereby causes financial loss to the person or organization concerned.

No charges have yet been filed. Infantino insists that he did not violate any applicable law. Most recently, FIFA called in the US judiciary and accused the Europeans of a “slander campaign”.