Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, faces an unprecedented challenge as European calls grow to find a strong candidate to compete against him in the upcoming presidential elections, amid rising tensions between him and UEFA.

British website TALKSPORT revealed intensive moves by UEFA member states to rally support for a European candidate capable of challenging Infantino, after the latter had hoped to be re-elected by acclamation without real competition.

Red card crisis ignites dispute

Tensions between the FIFA and UEFA presidents escalated after it was revealed that Infantino received a phone call from US President Donald Trump, asking him to intervene to review the red card received by American forward Folarin Balogun at the 2026 World Cup.

UEFA issued a strongly worded statement accusing FIFA of 'crossing red lines,' while Infantino defended the independence of the disciplinary committee that lifted the suspension without providing sufficient explanations other than 'personal judgment.'

Who will compete against Infantino?

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin emerges as the strongest potential candidate, but he prefers to remain in his current position and does not seek to challenge Infantino directly.

Federations from Belgium, Poland, and other European countries are leaning towards supporting Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, but reports indicate he has no ambition to run. If he declines, Poland will support Dariusz Mioduski, owner of Legia Warsaw.

Outside Europe, names like Victor Montagliani (CONCACAF president) and Patrice Motsepe (CAF president) are floated, but the former is focused on his current role, and the latter prefers to wait until 2031.

The biggest European challenge

The real challenge facing UEFA federations that want to unseat Infantino is that his ambitious plans to expand the World Cup to 64 teams instead of 48, along with his project to expand the Club World Cup and turn it into a tournament held every two years instead of four, enjoy broad support and great enthusiasm from the African Football Confederation, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation.

These expansion plans give small and medium-sized countries greater opportunities to participate in major tournaments and obtain larger revenues, making Infantino very popular outside Europe and complicating the task of any European candidate seeking to compete against him in the upcoming elections.