Infantino Faces FIFA Governance Showdown at Council Meeting — SkimNews
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- FIFA Council will meet Thursday to debate amending rules to prohibit future suspensions of automatic one-match bans, following the controversial reversal of U.S. forward Folarin Balogun's World Cup suspension.
- Donald Trump admitted he personally asked Infantino to review Balogun's ban, prompting criticism of political interference and raising concerns about Infantino's ties to the U.S. president.
- The four-part council agenda targets Infantino's 'one-man leadership style,' covering his withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, paying all 211 member federations from FIFA's $5–6 billion reserves, disciplinary procedures, and governance standards.
- Infantino is expected to counter UEFA's proposed one-off $10 million payment per federation by offering each of the 211 members $15 million extra in the 2027–30 cycle, on top of $10 million already promised.
- UEFA filed U.S. court applications seeking evidence discovery from FIFA and Joshua Kushner's investment firm for a possible criminal complaint in Switzerland, alleging the $4.2 billion FFE price was a 'fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.'
- Norway's football federation filed formal complaints over Infantino's creation of a peace prize awarded to Trump at December's World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., which is also on Thursday's agenda at German FA president Bernd Neuendorf's request.
- The FIFA presidential election candidate deadline is Nov. 18, with the vote set for four months later in Rabat, Morocco; Infantino was heading toward a fourth and final term through 2031 before the FFE plan surfaced nine days after the July 19 World Cup final.
Why it matters: With Infantino facing resignation calls ahead of a Nov. 18 candidate deadline, his $15 million-per-federation sweetener arrives as UEFA pursues a Swiss criminal complaint and Norway files ethics complaints — pressure that operates independent of how the council votes and could force disclosure of documents Hewitt and others have requested.
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