FIFA riot against Infantino: "It's a total shame"

Reports from employees and executives heard anonymously by French broadcaster RMC Sport show an environment of strong dissatisfaction within the organization. The criticism involves both the project of the new subsidiary and the way Infantino leads the entity.

“We love football, it's our life, and now we are being portrayed as football killers because of one person,” said an official who works at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

The employee had recently returned from North America, where he worked behind the scenes at the 2026 World Cup. According to him, episodes that occurred during the tournament had already damaged the entity's image, but the creation of the FFE represented the limit for some of the employees.

"He embarrasses us. I'm saying this bluntly, it's a total shame," he declared.

The crisis could also affect Infantino's bid to remain in charge of FIFA. The election for the 2027 to 2031 term is scheduled for March 18, 2027.

Another member of the entity's top leadership stated that the president lost support among people close to him and that important decisions began to be taken without the participation of other leaders.

“We have a WhatsApp group with other people who work at FIFA and there is no one supporting what he did,” he said.

According to the executive, the internal structure has become increasingly centralized. "We are in a system where we no longer have a say in day-to-day decisions. We just have to execute."

He also criticized the image conveyed by the entity to the public and questioned the priorities of the current management.

"We are seen as an international federation that only thinks about money, with a president who traveled millions of kilometers in a private jet during the World Cup and lives like a millionaire. Do you really think that football is a priority and that we are conveying a good image to the fans?", he stated.

Dissatisfaction has already begun to have effects outside the internal structure. The England and Wales federations announced that they will not support Infantino's candidacy for a new mandate.

The two entities were the first among the 211 federations affiliated to FIFA to publicly withdraw their support for the leader. The expectation is that other national associations will adopt the same position in the coming months.

Wales withdraws support for Infantino, and UEFA threatens legal action

The Welsh Federation was the first to publicly abandon the FIFA president's bid for re-election. European entity demands the preservation of documents linked to the project that planned to open commercial football assets to private investors