The President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who has been leading world football for ten years, announced on Thursday in Vancouver that he would be a candidate for re-election in 2027.
Elected in 2016, re-elected in 2019 and 2023, the 56-year-old Italo-Swiss took advantage of the FIFA Congress to “confirm,” he said, that he would indeed be a candidate, as various considerations have already expressed their support for him. Infantino made the declaration six weeks before the first World Cup with 48 participating countries, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Many endorsements
The African Football Confederation (CAF) and the Asian Confederation (AFC) announced on Thursday their support for his re-election, bringing his total to 101 out of 211 votes. Infantino already had the support of the 10 votes from South Africa (each national member association, regardless of size, has one vote at FIFA).
Leading world football since 2016, Infantino has faced numerous controversies, especially in recent months due to his close ties with American President Donald Trump, to whom he awarded the first FIFA Peace Prize. The awarding of this distinction in December 2025 led the FairSquare association to file a complaint with the FIFA Ethics Committee.
The leader has also faced criticism for expanding the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, which will take effect from the 2026 edition in the United States, Mexico, and Canada (June 11-July 19). However, his proposal to organize the World Cup every two years instead of four has failed.
Infantino can, however, boast of significantly increasing FIFA’s revenues, which are estimated at $13 billion at the end of the four-year cycle that will culminate after the 2026 World Cup.
For the 2027-2030 cycle, FIFA has also committed to distributing approximately $2.7 billion to its members, eight times more than ten years ago, through its FIFA Forward program.
