Nigeria and the Push to Oust FIFA President Gianni Infantino Using the Statutes
Gianni Infantino’s tenure as president of football’s world governing body is facing increased internal resistance, with critics inside FIFA pointing to the organisation’s own statutes and governance guidelines as a route to removing him from office.
According to reporting by AllAfrica drawn from Daily Trust, the catalyst was the unveiling of the FIFA Forward Enterprise, a proposal that would privatise and sell off minority stakes in the commercial rights tied to future World Cup tournaments. The plan has drawn criticism from member associations who question its scope and implications.
Under FIFA’s governance framework, the president can in principle be challenged through mechanisms embedded in the statutes, including motions at the FIFA Congress, where the body’s 211 member associations each hold a vote. Nigeria, one of Africa’s most influential football federations and a regular voice at congress debates, is among those studying the legal pathways available to dissenting members.
Infantino, who took office in February 2016 following the Sepp Blatter era, has previously secured re-election without serious challenge. His tenure has coincided with the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams and a rise in FIFA’s commercial revenues. Critics, however, have grown louder over questions of governance, transparency and the concentration of decision-making at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich.
As AllAfrica reported, opposition figures are now examining whether a motion supported by enough federations could be tabled at the next Congress, and whether FIFA’s audit and compliance committee could be engaged to scrutinise the FFE proposal before it advances further. The coming months are likely to test both Infantino’s authority and the internal mechanisms available to world football’s member associations.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
