Infantino has been criticised in recent days for trying to sell stakes in the World Cup. However, Infantino has issued an apology and made the deal appear to be good for football. Other footballers and footballing organisations have branded the deal as the worst deal to come out of FIFA, and many have urged him to leave the organisation.
Politicians like the new UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said that football belongs to the supporters, and he is right because without the fans, FIFA wouldn’t have generated billions of dollars from this year’s World Cup.
Infantino seems to be supporting the global elites rather than focusing on football, as this year’s World Cup became a political event more than a social event. Trump’s involvement in Balogun’s red card and its rescission shows that Infantino didn’t have the backbone to stand up to Trump.
Unlike Sepp Blatter, Infantino appears to be doing corrupt activities in the public domain, whereas Blatter was doing them behind closed doors. The UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, has called for Infantino to resign, and many commentators have called for an investigation into his stake in the World Cup deal.
However, many have called the last few days the darkest days of football, and Infantino will go down in history as one of the worst presidents to lead FIFA. Introducing the Club World Cup was a mistake, as players didn’t want to play in a tournament that didn’t have any global recognition, and pleasing politicians is Infantino’s biggest joy.
For Infantino to redeem himself, he must gather the other regional football organisations together and create a unified treaty with them on the commercialisation of FIFA. He will need to create a FIFA supporters’ group, and this group will be selected by fans and represented by fans; this group will be at every meeting and has a major role in all decision-making within FIFA.