Infantino must leave or Fifa will split, expert says

Gianni Infantino’s leadership of world football’s governing body Fifa faces growing opposition, and the organisation may split apart if he remains president, Sami Kolamo, a media culture docent at Tampere University, told Yle.

“Trust has been completely lost. It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which Infantino would get Uefa on his side,” said Kolamo, who is known in Finland as a football expert.

His comments follow a series of controversies surrounding Infantino, including a proposal to sell the World Cup to outside investors. On August 10, three continental football confederations jointly published a letter criticising Fifa’s leadership.

European football’s governing body Uefa was among those involved. According to Kolamo, Uefa’s leadership has long been irritated by Infantino’s close relationship with Donald Trump and by Fifa’s decision to award Trump a peace prize.

“The proposal to commercialise the World Cup was the final straw. At the next presidential election, either Infantino will have to leave or Fifa will break into pieces,” Kolamo said.

Kolamo was interviewed by Katri Tapola on Yle’s Koko Suomen radio programme on August 11.

Money keeps Infantino in power

According to Kolamo, Infantino’s supporters are motivated primarily by money.

“Infantino is a financial manager who has channelled money to federations around the world. Funds can be invested in poor countries, creating a dependency between national federations and Fifa,” he said.

Kolamo said that some countries in Africa and South America do not oppose Infantino because their national football associations benefit from Fifa’s funding and his major sponsors.

Infantino’s position is also supported by Fifa’s traditional political structure, in which there is often only one candidate for president. A rival is then found “from somewhere”, Kolamo said.

He estimated that well over half of the votes held by the continental confederations are against Infantino, but said he did not know where a replacement candidate could be found.

Controversies unlikely to end before election

Criticism of Infantino remains intense and is unlikely to subside before the election, Kolamo said.

The controversies have angered Uefa and British journalists, who are now seeking to uncover more about Infantino’s background, he said. Some of the information is accurate and some has been distorted, but former players are also posting videos on social media in opposition to him.

Although Kolamo predicts that Infantino will eventually leave, he said it would not happen easily.

“The Fifa president travels around the world and receives an almost royal welcome. Infantino does not want to give up this position.”