Uefa to press for removal of Gianni Infantino after withdrawing boycott threat
Uefa will continue its effort to remove Fifa president Gianni Infantino despite withdrawing a threatened boycott, with Europe's 55 member associations and the continent's Fifa Council members due on Thursday to be presented with a letter and Uefa's executive committee preparing to confirm the boycott's official removal in Monaco.
The letter guarantees that the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan will not be revived and the executive committee will formally confirm the end of the boycott, satisfying Uefa's demands and allowing the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup to go ahead next week in Poland with six European teams. Gianni Infantino has been president of Fifa since February 2016, and BBC Sport understands Uefa is confident a unity candidate can be found to challenge him when he is up for re-election in March.
Last month, Europe's 55 member associations voted to boycott all Fifa competitions until the FFE proposal was dropped "in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that Fifa will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership"; Uefa has now abandoned the boycott after securing the guarantee on FFE. Fifa welcomed the decision, saying it is "pleased that all qualified teams will be participating in the upcoming Under-20 Women's World Cup".
On the electoral arithmetic, a Fifa presidential win requires the backing of 106 of the 211 member associations, and BBC Sport understands any vote is expected to be close. Uefa has dropped the plan to force a vote of no confidence because that would need three quarters of member associations, 159 votes, to pass — a threshold described in the report as unrealistic. No unity candidate has been formally identified, though Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is considered a serious option and nominations must be submitted by 18 November.
BBC Sport also reports that even if Infantino were to win re-election, "it could cause terminal damage to his presidency, with his legitimacy compromised." That assessment underpins Uefa's push to recruit a challenger despite ending the boycott.
A Fifa spokesperson added that the organisation "strongly believes that football has the power to unite, even in challenging circumstances" and Fifa "remains committed" to developing the game in "full dialogue with the confederations and stakeholders". Fifa's public response accompanied its welcome for full participation in the Under-20 Women's World Cup.
A separate campaign by former players has opened an additional front: a group published a statement saying "change is necessary" at the head of Fifa, a message circulated by former Manchester United and France defender Mikael Silvestre who issued a post on X titled "Enough is Enough!" that was shared by England defender Lucy Bronze, France's 1998 World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit and former England goalkeeper David James. On Wednesday, a different group of former players recognised as Fifa Legends — including Cafu, Christian Vieri, Pepe and Esteban Cambiasso — posted messages supporting Infantino, with Vieri saying: "Over the past 10 years, we have seen the work Fifa and President Infantino have done to create representativity for players in football, which did not exist. "We will remain available to support the great evolution our game has seen this past decade, so that it keeps reaching and benefiting people of every country that plays football all around the world."
The immediate contractual deadlines are now in view: nominations for the Fifa presidency must be submitted by 18 November, ahead of the contest when Infantino is due to seek re-election in March.