Uefa close to naming candidate to challenge Gianni Infantino in FIFA election

Uefa is close to identifying a candidate to run against Gianni Infantino in the FIFA presidential election in March in Rabat and could approve the nominee as early as next week; candidates must confirm they are standing by 18 November.

Talks among Uefa and allied federations have gathered momentum despite recent setbacks, including a U-turn by Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, who unexpectedly endorsed Infantino’s bid for a fourth term. If an opponent is chosen, the identity will be put to Uefa’s executive committee and to the confederation’s meeting of national association heads, convened online.

There is an appetite within parts of European football to delay any public announcement until close to the deadline to reduce the risk of what sources described as a potential “dirty tricks” campaign by FIFA against the proposed candidate, although some sources expect the relevant meetings may be called in the next seven days.

Arsène Wenger has been widely mooted as a possible unity candidate but is not believed to have seriously entered the reckoning; Wenger remains FIFA’s chief of global football development and could be attending the FIFA Under-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan this week on behalf of his employer.

Any challenger faces steep arithmetic and political hurdles: they would need to secure 106 votes to win and must add substantial support from Asia, Concacaf and Africa to any European backing, while success in a secret ballot cannot be assumed. Infantino’s prospects have been weakened by the fallout from the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scandal, creating doubt about the likelihood of unseating him at the ballot.

Some within the anti-Infantino camp have argued that a coordinated boycott or mass abstention at the Rabat vote could be a more effective tactic than running a candidate, a strategy framed around the argument that FIFA is heavily dependent on European revenue and currently experiencing administrative paralysis; one symptom cited is the 2029 men’s Club World Cup, which is described as being in a deep freeze with little progress on its format or host.

Uefa has applied to four US courts seeking documents related to the failed FFE scheme with a view to lodging a criminal complaint in Switzerland alleging financial mismanagement; FIFA has responded by accusing Uefa of “harassment” and “misinformation” and has denied wrongdoing by Infantino. A preliminary ruling in the legal process is expected in the coming weeks, though the potential for FIFA to appeal could extend the timeline.

Uefa has given FIFA until Monday to answer 42 questions about governance and decision-making, including matters around FFE, the FIFA peace prize and the suspension of Folarin Balogun’s ban at the World Cup, and sources said Uefa has yet to receive a response. Infantino said last week that FIFA would "answer all the questions posed, to the extent that the process allows and to the best of our ability".

The immediate procedural steps are clear: any confirmed candidate will be presented to Uefa’s executive committee and to the online meeting of FA heads, meetings that may be convened within the next seven days, while the formal deadline for candidates to declare remains 18 November ahead of the March election in Rabat.