Exclusive-Soccer-Infantino can rely on enough votes to survive, opponents rethink strategy, sources say

Soccer Football - FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup - Group A - Poland v Argentina - Arena Katowice, Katowice, Poland - September 5, 2026 FIFA President Gianni Infantino inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Sept 10 (Reuters) - FIFA President GianniInfantino can count on enough votes to win re-election, meaning ⁠his opponents will need to shift strategy and focus on curbing his powers, a sharp reversal weeks after senior football figures believed his position was untenable, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

“Three weeks ago, I thought he was dead,” ⁠one global football source with first-hand knowledge of discussions among senior officials said of Infantino's chances of keeping his job.

“What I didn’t realise was the extent to which, after 10 years in power, the relationships he has built ‌are almost unbreakable.”

Swiss-Italian Infantino, 56, faced the biggest challenge to his presidency this year following the collapse of his proposal to sell a 20% stake in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors.

The plan prompted fierce opposition, with UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and North America's CONCACAF among those calling for change at the top of FIFA.

Several European national associations have since withdrawn backing for Infantino’s re-election, with France becoming the latest on Thursday.

Despite FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom lamenting what he called the “sad and reproachable series of events” that led to the project being abandoned, he later reaffirmed his full support for Infantino after a crisis meeting in Rabat.

But as the ​immediate crisis has receded, the electoral arithmetic has become increasingly daunting, opponents to Infantino's re-election say.

No challenger capable of commanding sufficient support across FIFA’s 211 member associations ⁠has yet emerged ahead of the March election, while Infantino retains strong backing among smaller football nations ⁠and important blocs outside Europe.

At the FIFA Congress, every national association will have one vote, meaning any successful challenge requires a coalition extending well beyond European governing body UEFA’s 55 members.

That leaves Infantino's opponents facing a potentially dangerous calculation: challenging the President and losing ⁠could ‌strengthen rather than weaken his grip on FIFA.

“I think the direction of travel has changed,” the source said. “It is even more of a risk for UEFA to go to a vote and not win.”

UEFA and FIFA have been approached for comment.

AL-KHELAIFI RULES HIMSELF OUT OF RUNNING

Paris St Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is regarded by senior football figures as one of the few potential candidates capable of assembling the cross-confederation coalition needed to beat Infantino.

Sources with an understanding of the situation believeAl-Khelaifi could mount a serious challenge, but he has ruled ⁠himself out, saying through a spokesperson that he has no ambition, intention or interest in becoming FIFA president.

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani is another name ​to have circulated, but said he was unlikely to stand without first believing he had ‌sufficient support to win, another source within world football told Reuters.

No other heavyweight candidate has emerged, although an African or Asian candidate could still be nominated before the November 18 deadline, the same source said.

Even among confederations that continue ⁠to support Infantino, there have been calls for stronger ​governance, greater transparency and tighter checks on major commercial decisions at FIFA.

The durability of Infantino’s support is illustrated by Oceania, where Steeve Laigle, president of the New Caledonia Football Federation, said most federation chiefs remained firmly behind him.

“Most of the presidents of Oceania have given their support to Mr Infantino,” Laigle told Reuters. “We will support him until the end.”

Laigle said Infantino had built loyalty among smaller federations by paying greater attention to their needs and helping develop the game.

“When we give our word, when we are loyal to someone, we are loyal until the end,” he said.

The mood in Africa is similar, according to a senior Confederation ⁠of African Football source, who said the vast majority of federation presidents remained satisfied with Infantino and believed continued support would bring increased development ​funding.

The source said none of the African federation presidents he was aware of had expressed the kind of concern voiced in Europe over the proposed World Cup stake sale.

MOROCCO AMONG INFANTINO'S PUBLIC SUPPORTERS

Morocco, one of Africa’s most influential federations, has been among Infantino’s public supporters.

A senior CAF source told Reuters some people within African football believed Royal Moroccan Football Federation President Fouzi Lekjaa had been promised the 2030 World Cup final in return for helping maintain African support for Infantino.

FIFA has denied reports that Morocco was promised the final in exchange for political support. Lekjaa said on ⁠Thursday it would be staged in the Casablanca area, although FIFA has not formally announced the venue.

The Moroccan federation did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Infantino also retains the support of South America’s CONMEBOL, while CAF remains supportive despite the AFC and CONCACAF joining UEFA in calling for change.

France illustrated the opposition’s dilemma on Thursday by withdrawing its backing for Infantino without identifying who should replace him.

“The trust placed in the FIFA president has been broken,” French Football Federation President Philippe Diallo told reporters after its executive committee unanimously withdrew support.

“Our mission now is to make sure that a programme and a candidate emerge — and then, with that programme and that candidate, to make sure they win,” Diallo said.

NO OBVIOUS CHALLENGER

Candidates must be nominated by November 18, leaving just over two months to agree an alternative programme, identify a willing ​candidate and assemble commitments across the world.

“The project cannot be a purely European one,” Diallo said. “It has to bring together all continents.”

With no obvious challenger, some of Infantino’s opponents are considering whether to shift ⁠their efforts towards changing FIFA’s governance structure.

The two global sources said officials were examining whether powers concentrated in the presidency could be reduced or redistributed if they conclude that Infantino cannot realistically be beaten at the ballot box.

That would mark a significant change from weeks ago, when senior ​figures believed the crisis surrounding the abandoned investment proposal could end Infantino’s presidency.

Attention could instead turn to stronger checks on major strategic and commercial decisions and a rebalancing of ‌authority within FIFA’s leadership.

Diallo confirmed that the distribution of power inside FIFA was among the issues under discussion.

Asked about suggestions that some ​powers could be taken from the president and given to an appointed secretary general, he said: “That is part of the debate we now need to have within UEFA.”

Without a candidate capable of turning European opposition into a global coalition, officials say attention may increasingly shift from removing Infantino to restricting the powers of the presidency itself.

The FIFA presidential election will take place in Rabat on March 18, 2027.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Additional reporting by Iain Axon and Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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足球 - 国际足联U20女足世界杯 - A组 - 波兰对阵阿根廷 - 波兰卡托维兹卡托维兹竞技场 - 2026年9月5日 国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺在赛前于体育场内 路透社/卡斯珀·彭佩尔

9月10日（路透社）——据多位知情人士向路透社透露，国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺有望获得足够的选票赢得连任，这意味着他的对手需要改变策略，集中精力限制他的权力。几周前，一些足球界高层人士还认为因凡蒂诺的处境岌岌可危，而如今情况发生了急剧逆转。

一位对高层官员之间的讨论有第一手了解的全球足球消息人士在谈到因凡蒂诺能否保住工作时说：“三周前，我以为他已经死了。”

“我没有意识到的是，在他执政 10 年后，他建立的关系几乎牢不可破。”

现年 56 岁的瑞士-意大利籍国际足联主席因凡蒂诺今年面临着对其主席任期的最大挑战，此前他提出的将包括世界杯在内的国际足联赛事 20% 的股份出售给私人投资者的提议失败了。

该计划引发了强烈反对，包括欧足联、亚洲足球联合会和北美中北美洲及加勒比海足球协会在内的各方都呼吁国际足联高层进行改革。

此后，多个欧洲国家协会撤回了对因凡蒂诺连任的支持，法国于周四成为最新一个撤回支持的国家。

尽管国际足联秘书长马蒂亚斯·格拉夫斯特伦对导致该项目被放弃的“一系列令人遗憾和应受谴责的事件”表示遗憾，但在拉巴特的一次危机会议后，他重申了对因凡蒂诺的全力支持。

但随着眼前的危机逐渐消退，反对因凡蒂诺连任的人士表示，选举形势变得越来越严峻。

在 3 月份的选举之前，还没有出现任何能够获得国际足联 211 个成员协会足够支持的挑战者，而因凡蒂诺在较小的足球国家和欧洲以外的重要集团中仍然拥有强大的支持。

在国际足联大会上，每个国家协会都将有一票，这意味着任何成功的挑战都需要一个远远超出欧洲管理机构欧足联55个成员的联盟。

这使得因凡蒂诺的对手们面临着一个潜在的危险抉择：挑战主席并失败可能会加强而不是削弱他对国际足联的控制。

“我认为方向已经改变了，”消息人士说。“对欧足联来说，如果进行投票却输掉，风险更大。”

已联系欧足联和国际足联征求意见。

阿尔赫莱菲排除自己参选的可能性

巴黎圣日耳曼主席纳赛尔·阿尔赫莱菲被足球界高层人士视为少数几个能够组建跨洲联盟击败因凡蒂诺的潜在候选人之一。

了解情况的消息人士认为，阿尔赫莱菲可能会发起强有力的挑战，但他本人已经排除了参选的可能性，并通过发言人表示，他对成为国际足联主席没有任何野心、意图或兴趣。

据路透社报道，中北美及加勒比海足联主席维克托·蒙塔利亚尼也是候选人之一，但他表示，除非确信自己有足够的支持赢得选举，否则他不太可能参选。

消息人士称，目前还没有其他重量级候选人出现，不过在11月18日截止日期前，仍有可能提名一位非洲或亚洲候选人。

即使在继续支持因凡蒂诺的各大洲足联中，也有人呼吁加强国际足联的治理、提高透明度，并对重大商业决策进行更严格的审查。

因凡蒂诺的支持力度之持久可见一斑，大洋洲新喀里多尼亚足球协会主席史蒂夫·莱格尔表示，大多数足协主席仍然坚定地支持他。

莱格尔告诉路透社：“大洋洲大多数国家元首都对因凡蒂诺先生表示支持。我们将支持他直到最后一刻。”

莱格尔表示，因凡蒂诺更加关注小型协会的需求并帮助其发展这项运动，从而赢得了这些协会的忠诚。

他说：“当我们许下诺言，当我们忠于某人时，我们会忠到最后。”

据非洲足球联合会一位高级消息人士透露，非洲的情况也类似，绝大多数足协主席对因凡蒂诺仍然感到满意，并相信持续的支持将带来更多的发展资金。

消息人士称，据他所知，非洲足协主席中没有一人对拟议的世界杯股份出售表示过像欧洲那样的担忧。

摩洛哥是因凡蒂诺的公开支持者之一

摩洛哥是非洲最有影响力的国家之一，也是因凡蒂诺的公开支持者之一。

一位非洲足联高级消息人士告诉路透社，非洲足球界的一些人认为，摩洛哥皇家足球协会主席福齐·莱克贾曾被承诺，只要他帮助因凡蒂诺继续获得非洲的支持，就能获得2030年世界杯决赛的举办权。

国际足联否认了有关摩洛哥因政治支持而被承诺获得决赛举办权的报道。莱克贾周四表示，决赛将在卡萨布兰卡地区举行，但国际足联尚未正式宣布比赛地点。

摩洛哥联邦政府没有回应路透社的置评请求。

因凡蒂诺也得到了南美洲足联的支持，而尽管亚足联和中北美及加勒比海足联与欧足联一起呼吁变革，非洲足联仍然支持他。

法国周四撤回了对因凡蒂诺的支持，但并未明确指出谁应该接替他，这凸显了反对派的困境。

“对国际足联主席的信任已被打破，”法国足球协会主席菲利普·迪亚洛在执行委员会一致撤回支持后告诉记者。

“我们现在的任务是确保选出一个合适的方案和候选人——然后，通过这个方案和候选人，确保他们赢得选举，”迪亚洛说。

没有明显的挑战者

候选人必须在 11 月 18 日前获得提名，这意味着只有两个多月的时间来商定替代方案、确定愿意参选的候选人以及在全球范围内争取各方承诺。

迪亚洛说：“这个项目不能仅仅是一个欧洲项目，它必须将所有大洲都联系起来。”

由于没有明显的挑战者，因凡蒂诺的一些反对者正在考虑是否将努力方向转向改变国际足联的管理结构。

两位全球消息人士称，官员们正在研究，如果他们认为在选举中不可能击败因凡蒂诺，那么是否可以减少或重新分配集中在总统手中的权力。

这将标志着与几周前截然不同的情况，当时高层人士认为，围绕被放弃的投资提案的危机可能会结束因凡蒂诺的总统任期。

注意力可能会转向对重大战略和商业决策进行更严格的审查，以及重新平衡国际足联领导层的权力。

迪亚洛证实，国际足联内部的权力分配是正在讨论的问题之一。

当被问及是否有人建议将部分权力从主席手中夺走并交给指定的秘书长时，他表示：“这是我们现在需要在欧足联内部进行辩论的一部分。”

官员们表示，由于没有一位候选人能够将欧洲反对派转变为全球联盟，人们的注意力可能会逐渐从罢免因凡蒂诺转移到限制总统权力本身。

国际足联主席选举将于2027年3月18日在拉巴特举行。

（朱利安·普雷托报道；伊恩·阿克森和马克·格里森补充报道；肯·费里斯编辑）

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