Infantino faces FIFA rebels in Zurich after failed World Cup stake sale

Gianni Infantino faces the soccer leaders who want him gone on Thursday in his first meeting with FIFA’s top brass since his plan to sell a stake in FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, collapsed.

Infantino has faced calls to resign from the leaders of three ‌regional football confederations – UEFA (Europe), AFC (Asia) and CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) – and their representatives will be present in Zurich for a FIFA Council meeting.

They will be joined by their counterparts from Africa, South America and Oceania.

On the agenda will be a discussion of the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, which Infantino was forced to abandon within days of announcing it in July.

Under the plan, Infantino proposed selling a minority stake in a FIFA commercial subsidiary to private investors, with a company launched by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, identified as the proposed lead investor.

The 37-member council will also address FIFA’s ⁠governance, with some of the sport’s most powerful figures determined to limit Infantino’s powers if they cannot force him out of office.

Infantino, 56, will stand for re-election in March 2027, with a November 18 deadline looming for potential candidates to submit their nominations.

Last week, former. Switzerland and Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega announced that he intended to stand, but he has not confirmed whether he has the backing of the five national associations required to enter the race.

The FFE plan exposed a split in world soccer, with Aleksander Ceferin, Salman Al Khalifa and Victor Montagliani — the presidents respectively of UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF — saying it was time for a change at the top of FIFA.

However, Infantino has been canvassing support as he bids to remain in power and received a standing ovation when he met African soccer leaders last week in Cape Verde.

He is also expected to be backed by South America at next year’s election in Rabat, Morocco. Despite the AFC’s criticism of his leadership, many countries within Asia, including a bloc ‌of Arab ⁠nations, have offered their support.