UEFA explores power-sharing plan to reshape FIFA after Infantino

A UEFA-led alliance is examining plans to rotate the FIFA presidency between the world governing body’s continental confederations, in a move that would reduce the authority of the role if Gianni Infantino is eventually forced to leave office.

The proposals are part of a wider effort by UEFA and its allies to prepare for FIFA’s future leadership and governance amid an increasingly bitter internal dispute over the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan.

That disagreement has developed into a sustained campaign to remove the Swiss-Italian administrator from his position, although Infantino continues to resist pressure to step down. The Independent reports that UEFA and its partners have already begun considering what the organisation should look like after his tenure.

A number of football leaders met in Salzburg this week for the UEFA Super Cup. It was the first opportunity for them to gather in person as a group since the latest FIFA crisis began.

The dispute was triggered when Infantino announced that he was targeting the sale of stakes in the World Cup to private-sector investors. The plan intensified tensions within the game’s leadership and prompted a wider examination of FIFA’s direction.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is understood to have held several meetings in Salzburg. The presence of Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe was regarded as particularly significant because CAF had previously supported Infantino.

Among the issues believed to have been discussed was the possibility of an independent review of FIFA’s governance. Leaders are also understood to have considered preparing a political document setting out the organisation’s future structure and guiding principles.

The fact that the proposed review would focus solely on FIFA, rather than also examining the continental confederations, has been viewed by some sources as significant. That approach is partly connected to the idea of rotating the FIFA presidency among the confederations, in a model comparable to arrangements used by UEFA and other multinational institutions.

Under such a system, FIFA would not have another president with the level of authority exercised by Infantino or by his predecessors. The intention would be to make the presidency less dominant and prevent the concentration of power in one office.

The proposed changes would also include a substantial strengthening of the administration surrounding the president. That structure would operate more like a powerful civil service, providing greater institutional support and limiting the extent to which FIFA’s direction depends on its elected leader.

The Independent concluded that UEFA and its allies are concentrating on changes to FIFA’s leadership and governance as the minimum response required to address the current crisis.

Infantino remains in position as the debate develops, but the discussions in Salzburg indicate that influential figures within the game are already planning for a possible post-Infantino era.