The brave German opposition has not given any challenger enough courage – nobody dares to enter the apparently hopeless race: Four months before the vote, the election for FIFA President has already been decided in favor of the extremely controversial Gianni Infantino.
Even without the support from Germany, Gianni Infantino can be sure of his third term as President of the World Football Association FIFA. After the deadline shortly before the start of the controversial World Cup in Qatar, the Swiss will be the only candidate for the election on March 16, 2023 in Kigali. This was announced by FIFA that no further candidacy had been received.
This means that the re-election of the 52-year-old, who had already been promised support from South America, Asia and Oceania, among others, is considered certain. The German Football Association and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf announced on Wednesday that they would not nominate a candidate. Infantino was elected to succeed Joseph Blatter in February 2016 and was confirmed in office by unopposed acclamation in June 2019. Now he is facing his third term in office, which is all a FIFA President can deny according to the statutes.
FIFA emerged six years ago from scandal months with the arrests of several officials in Zurich and the bans on Infantino’s predecessor Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini, who was actually considered the designated successor as FIFA boss. However, both cost a million payment the official careers – in the meantime both have been acquitted in Switzerland of the allegation of embezzlement at the time. Infantino, former UEFA general secretary, has been accused of helping to overthrow Blatter and Platini.
The FIFA President rejects the allegations, as well as reports of other inconsistencies during his tenure. He has long been criticized for a growing number of scandals and controversies. Criminal proceedings against the FIFA boss, who now lives partly in Qatar, are still ongoing in Switzerland. None of this matters to Infantino’s supporters. This is primarily for financial and strategic reasons. The small countries depend on the grants from FIFA – which Infantino takes care of. And numerous large associations need those small countries if they want to keep their chances of winning the 2030 World Cup intact.
According to official statements, the 52-year-old can count on the support of the confederations from Asia (AFC) and Africa (Caf), among others. Up to 211 FIFA member associations vote. Unlike in many parts of the world, Infantino from Germany did not receive a nomination. “Many associations have already signaled their support for the incumbent President Gianni Infantino. Nevertheless, with this decision we want to express that we would have liked FIFA to have shown a clearer commitment to human rights and a greater commitment to humanitarian issues,” said Neuendorf , who recently spoke to Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser with Infantino in Qatar.
