Football: without an opponent, Gianni Infantino is re-elected head of FIFA until 2027.

To the applause of the 73rd FIFA Congress, held on Thursday in Kigali (Rwanda), Gianni Infantino was elected for a new term as head of the international organization. He has already led it since 2016, and at 52, he is busy until 2027. The Swiss-Italian leader had no competition and was reappointed without issue by the delegates of the 211 member federations.

Thus, the lawyer begins the third term at the head of FIFA. He has already been re-elected in 2019 under the same conditions as this Thursday. His reign may even last until 2031, and his first three-year term is considered incomplete. The charter of the Zurich organization theoretically provides for three terms for a maximum of four years.

Elected to applause

As a token of gratitude after his re-election, Gianni Infantino thanked the crowd with the words “I love you all”. However, the voting system does not allow to identify dissenters. The lawyer’s leadership has been marked by several controversies in recent months. If FIFA’s economic situation improves, with revenues up 18% and reserves up 45% between 2019 and 2022, some European federations will grumble.

The aborted project of a World Cup every two years did not meet with approval. The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has also generated a lot of controversy. Gianni Infantino turned down several elections, including Germany or Spain, to play with the “One Love” armband in favor of LGBT rights.

Expansion projects

The FIFA president also implements several projects to develop world football in order to generate more income. The next World Cup, which will be held in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico, will feature 48 teams instead of 32. The number of matches also increases mechanically: from 64 to 104 matches. Gianni Infantino also wants the Club World Cup to be held every four years with 32 teams starting from the summer of 2025.

Completely opposing UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, the head of FIFA did not object to the creation of the Super League. A project that could compete strongly with the Champions League, the main competition of the European organization.