What's next for FIFA president Gianni Infantino after World Cup scandal?

FFE might be dead, but the question remains: is Infantino's career as the president of global soccer dead too?

FIFA's presidential election process

Infantino is FIFA's president, and that means he earned his position via a formal election. He first took office in early 2016, then won re-election after running unopposed in 2019 and 2023.

Each of FIFA's 211 member nations casts one equally-weighted vote to determine the winner of each election. The organization's next presidential election is set for 2027, and as recently as a few weeks ago, Infantino looked set to win it without challenge: more than 200 of the 211 nations gave him their support as the 2026 FIFA World Cup drew to a close.

Why Infantino might be in trouble

Perhaps all that goodwill went to Infantino's head. His slapdash, poorly executed attempt at launching FFE caused a significant percentage of his supporting nations to take a public stand against him. Europe and North America took unanimous stands against Infantino; between them, they cover 96 of FIFA's member nations (46% of its total).

Ending FFE might've saved Infantino some face, but it didn't earn him back any trust from those European and North American nations. Both groups celebrated the death of the proposal but maintained that merely killing it wasn't enough.

"We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account," said UEFA in an official statement. "No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family."

"The events of recent days have exposed something that cannot now be set aside: the future of the FIFA World Cup, the greatest asset in world football, was advanced outside every established governance framework, without transparency, consultation or due process," said Concacaf.

"A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour. A comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative."

The likely challenger

Infantino needs a challenger if he is to be defeated in FIFA's 2027 election...and global soccer might have finally found one.

It appears to be throwing its weight behind current Concacaf president Victor Montagliani of Canada.

Montagliani isn't exactly a perfect candidate. His list of professional controversies is long and varied, from protecting a women's U-20 coach who was eventually convicted of sexual assault to forcing the 2015 Women's World Cup to take place on AstroTurf against the wishes of the game's elite players. He's also been a major player in allying Concacaf with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. 

But what he is not—and will never be—is Infantino, and in the wake of this FFE scandal, that might be enough to get him over the line.