FIFA Presidency: Six Candidates Who Could Replace Infantino

Norway has formally called for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA president. The Norwegian Football Federation, led by Lise Klaveness, announced last week it would report the Swiss-Italian administrator to FIFA’s own Ethics Committee, saying he no longer has the confidence of the football world.

Norway is not alone. UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation have all issued joint statements accusing Infantino of deception and poor governance after he tried, and failed, to sell a $4.2 billion stake in World Cup commercial rights to a private investor group without informing member associations.

ESPN reports that players’ union FIFPRO called it “a profound abuse of presidential power.” Infantino dropped the plan on July 31 and FIFA apologised, but the revolt has not stopped.

Infantino announced he was running for a fourth term in April, and the election is set for March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco. He still has support in parts of Africa, South America, and Asia, and has not resigned. But for the first time in his decade running the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the mechanics of a succession are being discussed seriously.

With the November 18 declaration deadline approaching, Sportsbuzzfeed.com brings you the names most likely to succeed him if he goes.

1. Victor Montagliani (Canada)

Montagliani is the CONCACAF president and a FIFA vice-president, and most observers put him at the top of the list. He was central to the joint US-Canada-Mexico World Cup bid, his confederation was among the first to reject the commercial rights plan, and BBC Sport has called him the leading candidate.

His biggest asset is that he is not European, which matters when most of FIFA’s 211 member associations sit outside Europe and will not vote for a candidate they see as a UEFA puppet.

The only problem that he has, and we know is a Guardian report that he did not respond seriously enough to a 2008 sexual abuse complaint involving a Canadian youth coach. He has not formally declared yet.

2. Lise Klaveness (Norway)

Klaveness is a 45-year-old former international goalkeeper and qualified lawyer who has spent years challenging Infantino publicly on governance. She now has UEFA’s backing and, notably, the support of Sepp Blatter himself, who called for her to lead FIFA on August 4.

She would be the first woman to run the organisation in its 122-year history. Her weakness is that she has never run a confederation, only a national federation, and much of FIFA’s voting base in Africa and Asia does not yet know who she is.

3. Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrain)

Sheikh Salman ran against Infantino in 2016 and lost 115 votes to 88. He controls the Asian Football Confederation, one of FIFA’s largest blocs, and has deep political connections across the Middle East.

He brings more experience than almost anyone on this list. The problem that followed him in 2016 is still there, though. He was allegedly involved in the repression of athletes during Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring, which he denies but which would dominate any campaign against him.

4. Nasser Al-Khelaifi (Qatar)

Al-Khelaifi has not said anything publicly about running for FIFA president. But his name keeps coming up because of what he represents: Gulf state finance, European club ownership at the highest level through PSG, and a global media empire through BeIN.

He is not European in the political sense that UEFA members are, which helps him with the wider FIFA membership. Al Jazeera named him among the figures being discussed in private conversations. He has not declared, and may never declare. But the conversations are real.

5. Patrice Motsepe (South Africa)

Motsepe is the CAF president and a South African billionaire, with a net worth Forbes puts at around $3.7 billion. He has reshaped African football since taking over in 2021 and has a clean image compared to most figures at this level.

The challenge is, African candidates have historically struggled to build the cross-confederation coalitions needed to win a FIFA election. Motsepe would need partners across Asia or CONCACAF to have a real chance. He has not declared.

6. Dariusz Mioduski (Poland)

Mioduski owns Legia Warsaw and has been backed by several UEFA figures as a reform candidate who carries no confederation baggage. He has not run for any international football position before, which is both the appeal and the limitation.

His name reflects how far the search for credible alternatives has spread inside UEFA. For a club owner to be discussed at all tells you something about how frustrated parts of the game are with the usual field of candidates.