Infantino Struggling To Survive, Says Former IOC Marketing Chief

FIFA president Gianni Infantino's leadership has become "radioactive" and his 10-year reign as head of world football "is over", a former head of IOC marketing told AFP.

A FIFA plan to raise up to $4.2 billion, based on a valuation of $20 billion, through private investment leaked to media on Tuesday.

The scheme proposed a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup and one-off payments of $20 million to all 211 member associations, who each have one FIFA vote.

Following a furious global reaction, Infantino on Saturday shelved the scheme.

"I do not think we have ever seen such a fast fall from grace by a sports leader," Michael Payne, former head of marketing at the International Olympic Committee, told AFP.

"One week ago, Infantino was riding high from delivering a very successful World Cup, and expected to run unopposed for election next year to continue his mandate as president of FIFA.

"Now Infantino will struggle to survive the month.

"How does he find himself in this mess -– gross hubris!"

The signs are not good for the 56-year-old Swiss, with European football's governing body UEFA and CONCACAF -- which includes the three recent co-hosts of the World Cup, the US, Canada and Mexico -- among those expressing their discontent over his leadership.

UEFA said he had lost their "confidence" with his "shabby deal". CONCACAF called for "a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency".

Payne, who in nearly two decades at the IOC helped modernise the organisation's brand and improve its finances, said he feared the fall-out if Infantino stayed.

"I learnt long ago to never say never in this world, but this is going to take more than a miracle for Infantino to survive," said the 68-year-old Irishman.

"I don't see how any amount of lobbying or 'persuasion' of the smaller countries can save him.

"His leadership has become radioactive, and if he stays there will be total civil war in global football, with breakaways by leading nations and boycotts.

"Its over."

Terrence Burns, who was brand and marketing strategist for two successful World Cup hosting bids, told AFP he had never seen "anything mismanaged and bungled so badly by people so smart".

- 'Played it well' -

However, Burns said that even though Infantino's position is "precarious", it is not beyond repair even if a challenger does emerge for the vote in Rabat next year.

He said that UEFA had resorted to the "nuclear option" of threatening a World Cup boycott but in FIFA elections "confederations do not vote as a bloc".

"It's the individual associations that receive development money from Zurich," said Burns, adding that Africa (CAF) and Oceania could be pivotal.

"If CAF stays with him, he can lose Europe, Asia, and CONCACAF in public and still win in the hall.

"If CAF moves, it's game over."

Burns said Infantino has wasted all his capital and a 64-team World Cup might not be enough of a sweetener.

"I think expansion sells when it reads as access," he said.

"But offered now, weeks after an attempt to sell a fifth of the asset that generates the money, it reads as a payment."

Burns said Infantino's authority has taken a hit.

"The thing he's lost is inevitability, which in this business is a real asset," he said.

"He was unopposed in 2019 and 2023 because serious people don't run against someone who can't be beaten.

"I think that calculation changed this week, before the 18 November nomination deadline.

"That's the part I'd be most worried about if I were in his camp."

For Burns the winners were the "sport itself" and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

"He played it well," said Burns.

"UEFA carried the fight collectively while he issued no personal statement at any point, which means he can now stand, or not stand, (for the FIFA presidency) without having spent anything on the argument.

"The boycott threat was aggressive and credible, which is a rare pairing."
-AFP