CORNERFLICK
Gianni Infantino is preparing to seek another term as FIFA president in 2027, with a campaign slogan centred on widening football’s reach beyond the traditional powers. The next FIFA presidential election is scheduled for 18 March 2027 in Morocco.
Campaign message
Infantino has chosen the line: “Football belongs to everyone, everywhere in the world.” He says one of his main aims is to create more opportunities for countries still some way behind the sport’s biggest nations.
Criticism and lost support
The slogan launch comes during a sharper wave of criticism of his leadership, much of it tied to the shelved FIFA Forward Enterprise project. The proposed commercial scheme would have opened the door to private investors and handed over part of the structural rights linked to FIFA’s tournament media and commercial business, with an estimated value of about $20 billion.
Opponents questioned both the project’s design and FIFA’s consultation with member associations. On 10 September, the French Football Federation said it would no longer back Infantino’s candidacy, after an unanimous vote from its executive committee, and president Philippe Diallo said trust in FIFA had declined.
What happens next
Infantino has led FIFA since February 2016 and won re-election in 2019 and 2023 without serious opposition. No formal challenger has yet emerged for 2027, but the increased resistance in Europe could make this campaign more testing than the last two.