Will Infantino survive a grilling that covers the aborted World Cup sell‑off, the Balogun controversy and the surprise peace‑prize award to Donald Trump? Council members will press him on each issue at Thursday’s heated session in Zurich.
The president had brushed off demands for an extraordinary council meeting after the FFE proposals surfaced. Yet he now faces his critics face‑to‑face, and one insider warns the talks could turn volatile.
Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin, Concacaf boss Victor Montagliani and AFC president Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim al‑Khalifa will sit in, each having called for Infantino’s resignation and an independent governance audit.
After receiving letters from the three confederation heads, Infantino said he would hire an external firm to review FIFA’s future governance. No concrete plan has emerged, fueling doubts about true independence.
Beyond the FFE, Balogun saga and peace‑prize, a Times report this week claims he pocketed a “second salary” of roughly £1.3 million in 2024, on top of the £3.9 million listed in FIFA’s accounts. For my money, the undisclosed pay raises serious doubts about transparency.
IRS filings reveal a FIFA subsidiary that ran last summer’s World Cup paid Infantino $1.76 million, a sum absent from the annual report that records his salary as 4.27 million Swiss francs (£3.86 million).
FIFA statutes require the president’s individual compensation to be made public. The organisation insists no wrongdoing occurred.
“FIFA does not pay a second salary to the president and meets all reporting obligations,” the body said. “His annual pay and other contractual benefits are set by an independent compensation sub‑committee.”
The organization firmly rejects any allegation of hidden financial data or statutory breaches. “Accounts are audited independently and comply with tax rules in Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere.”
Despite backlash from European, Asian and CONCACAF officials, Infantino is poised to run unopposed in the March election.
Montagliani has declined to challenge Infantino, focusing on his own re‑election as CONCACAF chief. UEFA still lacks a replacement candidate, though names like Arsène Wenger and Michele Kang have been floated.
Candidates must declare by 18 November, with the vote scheduled for the FIFA congress in Rabat on 18 March.
At the Zurich meeting Infantino plans to propose a £2.6 billion boost to global development funding, drawing from reserves to lift the 2027‑30 total to £4.83 billion. Could this spending surge sway enough votes to cement his legacy?