'Abuses of power' - Gianni Infantino faces formal challenge to ban him from FIFA presidency

FairSquare has submitted a formal letter to FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee calling for Infantino to be ruled ineligible for next year’s presidential election. The 56-year-old is currently the only candidate who has announced an intention to stand. If re-elected, Infantino would secure a fourth term carrying his presidency through to 2031. However, FairSquare insists he is already serving his third and final term under FIFA regulations.

Infantino entered office in 2016 following Sepp Blatter's departure amid corruption scandals. FIFA's Council agreed in 2022 that his first three years did not count towards the three-term limit because he was completing Blatter's interrupted tenure. In a letter sent on August 13, FairSquare requested that the Review Committee overturn that position.

"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. A previous decision of the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee to‬ discount his first term clearly violates the letter and purpose of the FIFA statutory provision on presidential term limits.," the letter stated, as quoted by The Athletic.

"On 16 December 2022, the FIFA Council held a‬ meeting in Doha, Qatar, after which FIFA published a‬‭ press release‬‭ which referred to this decision:‬ ‘The FIFA Council also unanimously confirmed its agreement with the view of the Governance, Audit‬ & Compliance Committee that the period between 2016 and 2019 does not count as a term of office for the current FIFA President, who is therefore about to end his first term."

Infantino’s tenure has recently been plagued by a series of high-profile controversies that have alienated key stakeholders. From the murky process surrounding Donald Trump’s FIFA Peace Prize to a plot to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private capital, the 56-year-old is finding himself increasingly isolated. The advocacy group remains concerned that allowing Infantino to bypass the term-limit rules sets a dangerous precedent for future leaders.

"Neither the FIFA Statutes nor the FIFA Governance Regulations make any provision for a‬ presidential term to be discounted because it did not last for the maximum period of four years," the letter writes.

"The‬ statutes explicitly state that ‘no person may serve as President for more than three terms of office’ without making any distinction as to those terms of office. The letter of the rule is clear and does not‬ provide for any exception based on the complete or incomplete nature of the term of office, or with‬ respect to the type of Congress - Ordinary or Extraordinary - at which the election took place.‬

"In view of Mr Infantino’s various abuses of‬ power and the failure of the FIFA Council to hold him to account, such a scenario is plausible."

FairSquare highlighted that the leadership of the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee has changed since the initial 2022 ruling. The advocacy group believes the current Review Committee incumbents must reassess the situation independently.

The group has formally requested that the committee uphold FIFA statutes by ruling Infantino ineligible ahead of next year's elections. All eyes now turn to FIFA's internal committees to see how they respond to the rising legal and political pressure.