Infantino Dismisses Resignation Talk Despite UEFA Criticism Over FIFA Deal

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has rejected suggestions he considered resigning and insisted he retains backing from the “vast, vast majority” of world football, despite criticism from UEFA and other confederations over the collapsed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Infantino laughed off questions about his position and whether he was fit to lead FIFA. He said disagreement was normal in a global organisation and that differing views should not prevent football from moving forward.

The FFE plan, scrapped within days, would have sold a share of commercial rights for FIFA competitions to a private investment firm. It prompted a letter from the heads of UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf accusing Infantino of breaking trust through deception. UEFA later demanded that FIFA release key FFE documents by 2 November.

Infantino has since travelled to Morocco, the Dominican Republic, Cape Verde and Japan, strengthening support before next year’s presidential election. He has also proposed increasing FIFA football development funding by $3.4bn.

He noted that the Asian Football Confederation had fully endorsed him after a change of position by its president, Sheikh Salman, and that African countries had backed him. Last week, however, he apologised to the FIFA Council over communication and consultation on FFE. Council members warned he was not fit to be FIFA president if he failed to provide requested documents, including the rationale for the proposal.

Pressed on when the documents would be released, Infantino gave no clear timetable, saying FIFA was following a legal process and working on it. He admitted FIFA had done “some things which are maybe less good” and said the organisation needed more frequent dialogue with UEFA to repair strained relations.

Asked about his position, Infantino said he had been elected by 211 member associations and stressed the importance of respecting the views of the global majority. He added that member associations would decide who leads FIFA and how it is run.

The deadline for presidential candidates is 18 November, and no challenger has yet filed. Infantino could stand unopposed in March.

Speaking from the first FIFA Under-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan, Infantino welcomed the tournament, which features teams from 189 member associations, including England, Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil. Russia is also taking part, its first FIFA-sanctioned event since Russian teams were suspended following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The boys-only tournament uses an 8v8 format with 20-minute halves; FIFA plans a girls-only edition next year and combined boys’ and girls’ tournaments from 2028.