Ex-FIFA Chief Says Infantino Cannot Run for Fourth Term in 2027

Photo: Reuters via Al Jazeera (FIFA president Gianni Infantino)

Gianni Infantino cannot stand for a fourth term as FIFA president, according to the man who used to run FIFA's own governance committee. Miguel Maduro says the world football body's rules are plain: no president may serve more than three terms, and Infantino has already served three. The claim lands just two weeks before the deadline for candidates in the March 2027 election.

Maduro, a Portuguese lawyer who headed FIFA's Governance Committee until he was removed in 2017, told reporters on Tuesday that the wording leaves no room for argument. "Article 33, paragraph two of the FIFA statutes is very clear when it says no person may serve as president for more than three terms," he said. "Gianni Infantino has been elected three times, he's been president of FIFA for three terms. So in my view, there's no way to reconcile another presidency of Infantino."

The dispute turns on Infantino's first spell in charge. He was elected at an extraordinary congress in 2016 after Sepp Blatter resigned, and his camp has argued that spell should not count because it completed an interrupted mandate rather than a full term. In December 2022 the FIFA Council unanimously confirmed that the period from 2016 to 2019 does not count as a term of office. Maduro says that reasoning has never been made public, and he rejects it outright.

"The text of the provision is clear, it talks about three terms. It makes no distinction on whether these terms are complete terms or incomplete terms, four-year terms or terms that may be shorter than the four years," he said.

The human rights group FairSquare has now written to member associations urging them to declare Infantino ineligible. It says it has contacted 52 associations so far, though none has yet responded to the call. Its director and co-founder, Nicholas McGeehan, told Reuters the group will meet Norwegian football officials on Wednesday. Norway's association has already backed a FairSquare complaint against Infantino over political neutrality rules, and McGeehan said he hopes Norway will set an example again.

"But other associations also need to step up, it can't always be left to the Norwegians to insist on basic rules," he said.

Maduro went further, saying FIFA's system for holding its president to account has broken down, especially when the president stands to gain from how the rules are read. He said the bodies meant to check presidential power have lost their independence, and he described a "climate of fear" that stops member associations acting on their own.

None of this means Infantino has been ruled out. FIFA has not declared him ineligible, and his re-election prospects looked strong only last month, when the head of Asian football endorsed his bid. With support across confederations among FIFA's 211 voting members, he starts as the clear favourite if he is allowed to stand.

That is what makes the next two weeks so important. If a member association, or FIFA itself, takes up Maduro's reading of the rules, the March 2027 election changes completely. If nobody acts, Infantino is likely to carry on regardless of the argument. For football fans, the question is simple even if the statutes are not: does three terms really mean three terms?

It is a week of big calls in world sport: Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 as Yamal made Champions League history, and PSG hit Villarreal for six on another big Champions League night.

Sources

Al Jazeera: FIFA's Infantino ineligible for re-election, says former governance chief

Reuters: Ex-FIFA governance chief says Infantino ineligible for re-election, members urged to act

The candidacy deadline in the next two weeks will show whether any member association acts on the challenge.

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