FIFA president Gianni Infantino may face serious sanctions after summoning his most senior officials to Morocco for an emergency meeting on Wednesday. Infantino is doing all that he can to cling on to power, despite widespread condemnation for his plot to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private equity ventures.
Having brought FIFA's top leaders to North Africa, Infantino will speak in order to preserve his position and convince those who hold similarly powerful roles that they would be best served with the Swiss-Italian in charge. UEFA are leading calls to replace Infantino, though no challenger has officially been announced before next year's FIFA elections.
UEFA opposition and U-turn
While fierce worldwide opposition and boycott threats from UEFA forced Infantino to an embarrassing U-turn and abandon the proposal last week, incensed football leaders maintain that serious harm has been inflicted.
As Infantino deploys today's emergency discussions in Rabat to attempt to stabilise his leadership and retain control, an enraged European football establishment has declared open warfare against him and is examining two separate legal routes to oust him.
Vote of no confidence option
The initial avenue under consideration is to call an emergency vote of no confidence. According to official FIFA statutes, an extraordinary Congress can be convened if requested by at least 20 per cent of member associations - representing 43 of FIFA's 211 worldwide members.
With UEFA alone comprising 55 member associations, European football comfortably surpasses that threshold and can independently trigger a congress within three months. Nevertheless, actually removing Infantino at the gathering would still require a simple majority of all 211 global members, with each nation possessing a single vote irrespective of size.
Disciplinary proceedings route
The second avenue - and a considerably more dramatic path to oust Infantino - is via formal disciplinary proceedings. FIFA's independent Ethics Committee has the authority to investigate alleged violations of the FIFA Code of Ethics and impose severe penalties, including extended bans from all football-related activities.
This is precisely the mechanism that toppled former president Sepp Blatter in 2015, while he was also given a lengthy ban from all football activity. While no official ethics inquiry has been launched yet, a prolonged ban remains the ultimate severe option to force his immediate departure.
Potential succession and election timeline
Should Infantino be removed before his term concludes, FIFA's Governance Regulations stipulate that the longest-serving vice president would assume temporary control until Congress elects a successor. The next official presidential election is scheduled for March 18, 2027, with nominations closing on November 18.
Infantino had previously been expected to secure victory by a landslide. But after pushing the sport to breaking point, he may discover today's crisis summit signals the beginning of the end.
