RismadarVoice Reporters
September 15, 2026
Pressure on FIFA President Gianni Infantino is mounting as more European football leaders publicly back UEFA’s push for a change in the organisation’s leadership, highlighting a growing regional challenge to his bid for re-election.
The latest support came from Greek Football Association President Makis Gagatsis and former Germany national team director Oliver Bierhoff, who separately expressed opposition to Infantino’s continued leadership of world football.
Gagatsis said the Greek Football Association had taken a clear position against Infantino’s candidacy, citing concerns over recent developments within FIFA and controversies surrounding the organisation.
“We saw things happen at the World Cup that are not acceptable to football public opinion,” Gagatsis said, according to Reuters.
Bierhoff also backed calls for change, saying recent developments had contributed to an erosion of confidence in FIFA’s leadership.
The growing opposition follows a major dispute over a proposal associated with Infantino’s administration to create a new commercial structure that would have allowed private investors to acquire a stake in FIFA competitions.
The proposal was ultimately abandoned after opposition from several football stakeholders, including UEFA and other confederations. The controversy intensified criticism of FIFA’s decision-making process and contributed to a broader debate over transparency, governance and the concentration of power within the organisation.
UEFA’s opposition has increasingly become a coordinated regional position rather than criticism from a small number of individual officials. France’s football federation, which had previously supported Infantino for more than a decade, withdrew its backing for his re-election last week, further weakening his traditional support in Europe.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has been at the centre of the European response, although he did not publicly address reporters during the latest developments. UEFA and other football confederations have raised concerns over FIFA’s leadership and governance, adding pressure on Infantino ahead of the presidential election.
Infantino is seeking another term as FIFA president, with the election scheduled for March 2027. However, despite the growing European opposition, he remains in a strong position because of support from several other regions and national associations.
A Reuters report last week said Infantino was still expected to secure re-election, with substantial backing from associations in Africa, South America and Oceania, among others. His opponents have struggled to identify a credible alternative candidate capable of assembling enough votes to defeat him.
The absence of a confirmed challenger has complicated the European strategy. Rather than relying solely on an electoral challenge, Infantino’s opponents are also considering ways to strengthen institutional checks on the FIFA president and introduce governance reforms that would limit the concentration of decision-making authority.
The latest developments therefore set up a potentially significant contest between European football authorities seeking changes at the top of FIFA and Infantino’s broader international network of supporters.
With the nomination process still ahead, European officials face the challenge of translating their regional opposition into a sufficiently broad coalition capable of influencing the FIFA presidential election or securing structural reforms within the organisation.
For now, however, the growing number of European football figures distancing themselves from Infantino represents one of the clearest challenges yet to his leadership since the controversy over FIFA’s proposed private-investment plan erupted.
