Infantino berated the media for the treatment coming his way but imposed a series of close deadlines on confederations who had not been consulted on the idea, before one of them, UEFA, announced its members would boycott the World Cup and all FIFA tournaments<\/a> unless the proposal was dropped.<\/p>\n Then, only last night, an email sent by FIFA (albeit without Infantino\u2019s signature) acknowledged the inevitable climbdown<\/a>. \u201cIt has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,\u201d it read. \u201cAs a result, this proposal will not proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Gianni Infantino with Donald Trump and his Peace Prize (Brendan Smialowski\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Given all of this has played out in public, you have to wonder about the stuff we do not see. Clearly, UEFA has had enough of Infantino. This morning, European football\u2019s governing body declared a loss of confidence in FIFA leadership<\/a>, saying \u201cno option should be off the table\u201d when it comes to reform.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game,\u201d a UEFA statement read. \u201cWe must identify those responsible and hold them to account.\u201d<\/p>\n At the start of the summer, Infantino seemed untouchable but there is a mood of mutiny in the air<\/a>. Questions about whose interests Infantino is serving have developed beyond average cynics who tend to suspect this type of thing. Now, doubts are held by the confederations that collectively have the power to get rid of him.<\/p>\n It all begs the question: is football finally poised for a reset moment? This would feel like the right time. It is the start of another World Cup cycle, with the memories of the Folarin Balogun affair<\/a>, exorbitant ticket costs and hydration breaks still fresh (even if the footballers and fans did their best to deliver a proper spectacle). Infantino is up for re-election in March, with candidates needing to declare their intention to run by November 18.<\/p>\n Inside the World Cup ticket price jump<\/p>\n Henry Bushnell<\/p>\n Surely there is someone out there who could deliver a manifesto that would appeal to those who have long campaigned for cultural change in football, while not frightening too many member associations who have benefitted \u2014 financially and on the pitch \u2014 from Infantino\u2019s regime?<\/p>\n Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the Paris Saint-Germain president from Qatar, who sits on FIFA\u2019s council and is the chairman of European Football Clubs (EFC), says he has \u201cno ambition, no intention and no interest in the FIFA role\u201d but other names have been linked more prominently, including Victor Montagliani, the head of Concacaf, and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the head of the Asian Football Confederation. Lise Klaveness, the impressively combative head of the Norwegian Football Federation<\/a>, would struggle to win enough support but would be an intriguing candidate.<\/p>\n \n Could Victor Montagliani, who presides over North American, Central American and Caribbean football, replace Infantino? (Omar Vega\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n It will be interesting to see which moves UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin makes from here.\u00a0His term also ends next year, and while in 2024 he announced that he would not run again<\/a>, it would be fascinating to know if the\u00a0really big job appeals.\u00a0<\/p>\n UEFA might seem to Europeans, at least, like the good guys in all of this, but it does not have a great record when it comes to a clean delivery of its own competitions, as supporters of Liverpool and Manchester City will testify following the chaos of Champions League finals in 2022<\/a> and 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2249481362-1-scaled.jpeg\")
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