FairSquare challenges Infantino’s eligibility

FairSquare has formally asked FIFA to prevent Gianni Infantino from standing for another term as president, arguing that a fourth-term bid would breach the organisation’s statutory limit of three terms.

The non-profit advocacy organisation sent its latest letter on August 13 to three members of a FIFA Review Committee operating under the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee. It asked the committee to rule Infantino ineligible for next year’s election, which would allow him to remain in office until 2031 if he were re-elected.

Infantino is currently the only candidate to have announced an intention to stand. He became FIFA president in 2016 after the organisation’s corruption crisis, succeeding Sepp Blatter.

Dispute over the 2016–19 period

FIFA’s statutes limit presidents to three terms. In 2022, however, Infantino said his first period in office should not count because he had initially been elected to complete Blatter’s interrupted term rather than begin a full four-year mandate.

The FIFA Council subsequently said it had unanimously agreed with the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee’s view that the period from 2016 to 2019 did not constitute a term. FairSquare argues that this interpretation has no basis in FIFA’s rules and that Infantino will already have served three terms by next year.

“We are writing to request that you rule Mr. Infantino ineligible to run again for the FIFA Presidency on the basis that he is already serving his third and final term,” FairSquare wrote.

The group said neither the FIFA Statutes nor the FIFA Governance Regulations allows a presidential term to be discounted because it lasted less than four years or began at an Extraordinary Congress rather than an Ordinary Congress.

Calls for greater transparency

FairSquare also questioned the lack of public access to the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee report that was provided to the FIFA Council in 2022. It said the absence of a published explanation had prevented proper scrutiny of the decision.

The organisation warned that excluding shorter terms from the limit could undermine the purpose of FIFA’s reforms, which were introduced to improve transparency and accountability and guard against corruption and self-dealing. It also argued that, in theory, a president could exploit early elections to remain in power indefinitely.

The committee’s membership and leadership have changed since the 2022 decision. FairSquare therefore asked the current Review Committee to reconsider the matter and conclude that another Infantino candidacy would amount to an unlawful fourth term.

Pressure around Infantino’s presidency

The eligibility challenge comes amid wider criticism of Infantino’s leadership. FairSquare previously filed an ethics complaint alleging repeated breaches of FIFA’s political-neutrality obligations, including concerns about the process that led to Donald Trump receiving FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize. The Norwegian Football Federation later backed calls for that complaint to be examined.

Infantino has also faced controversy over the suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun’s ban during the World Cup and over reported plans to sell stakes in FIFA events and competitions to Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital. Relations with UEFA have deteriorated, while Concacaf and the Asian confederation have also questioned his leadership.

FIFA had been approached for comment on FairSquare’s latest request.