FIFA: Infantino defends his re-nomination, supported "by an overwhelming majority"

Gianni Infantino claims the support of the "vast, vast majority" of world football and prepares to run for a fourth term as FIFA president as controversy over his management mounts. Interviewed by the BBC in Baku, Azerbaijan, he recognized the need to improve dialogue with those who contest his choices, but implicitly rejected the requests for resignation following the scandal of the project to market FIFA competitions through private investors.

"In an organization like FIFA there can be different points of view," he said, stressing that if you believe in democracy, you must respect the opinions of the majority of the 211 member federations. "It's right to have disagreements, but we must be able to discuss them, understand each other and move forward", the words of the world football no.1. Infantino assured that he will respond to the 42 questions sent by UEFA, which has set November 2 as the deadline for receiving clarifications on various aspects of the management of the international federation.

At the center of the controversy is the Fifa Forward Enterprise plan, which was supposed to open up a participation in competition revenues to private investors. The project, revealed by the British newspaper The Times, was shelved three days after the publication of the investigation. UEFA has launched legal action in the United States and is reportedly considering an alternative candidate for March's presidential elections. Other sources of friction include the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to American President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Infantino's position has been strengthened by the support of Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Confederation (AFC), who on Friday confirmed his support for a new mandate, after having criticized the Swiss leader in recent months. Asia has 46 votes out of a total of 211, while Infantino can also count on significant support in Africa and South America. In March 2027 he will need at least 106 votes to be confirmed. The game remains open especially in Europe, where the English and German federations have questioned Infantino's suitability to lead FIFA again. The president is instead focusing on funding the national federations: from next January, he recalled, each should be able to receive up to 25 million dollars over four years, compared to the million expected before his inauguration in 2016.