Norway calls on Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign

By Liam Tremblay — 7 August 2026 — 4 min read

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) has called for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign following his attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. This move places further pressure on Infantino, who has faced criticism from several football associations.

Lise Klaveness, president of the NFF, stated on Friday that Infantino lacks the institutional trust necessary to govern Fifa effectively. She emphasized that there is no turning back for Infantino and that international football cooperation is in trouble, necessitating his resignation.

Klaveness, a qualified lawyer, outlined a series of concerns the Norwegian FA has raised with Fifa during her four-year tenure. These concerns include questions surrounding tournament awards, the inaugural Fifa peace prize awarded to US President Donald Trump, and the overturning of a ban for American forward Folarin Balogun during the recent World Cup after a phone call from Trump.

The NFF’s stance goes further than that of the football associations of England, Wales, Croatia, and Albania, all of whom have withdrawn their support for Infantino but have not explicitly called for his resignation. Uefa, European football’s governing body, has also expressed a loss of confidence in Infantino, describing his Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal.”

Despite the opposition, Infantino has received support from other regions. The Mexican Football Federation, a co-host of the 2026 World Cup, has publicly backed Infantino’s leadership. The FMF stated its support for Infantino’s role in promoting football development through institutional strengthening.

Similarly, Conmebol, South America’s governing body, indicated it would reject any attempt to remove Infantino without a vote involving all 211 Fifa members. However, Conmebol did express concern about repeated unilateral actions taken without dialogue. The football association of 2026 World Cup runners-up Argentina also praised Infantino for acknowledging and apologizing for his “errors,” describing his decade-long tenure as focused on global soccer development and institutional strength.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unanimously backed Infantino. This contrasts with the opposition from Uefa and Concacaf, the regional governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Concacaf called for a “comprehensive reckoning” of Infantino’s presidency after his plans to sell stakes in the World Cup were aborted. Concacaf described Infantino’s proposal as “a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first” and highlighted a pattern of missteps and similar behavior. However, unlike Uefa, Concacaf did not explicitly state a loss of confidence in the Fifa president.

Before Infantino withdrew his proposal, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had expressed solidarity with Uefa and Concacaf in opposing the plans. The deadline for nominations for the next Fifa presidency is 18 November, with the election scheduled for 18 March at the 77th Fifa Congress in Rabat, Morocco.

Infantino’s Re-election Prospects

Infantino is hoping to be voted in for a fourth term, despite Fifa statutes typically limiting the maximum tenure to three four-year terms. He successfully argued that his first term, which lasted three years after replacing Sepp Blatter in 2016, should not count, allowing him to stand again. Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.

Unless Uefa can find a way to unseat Infantino, he has seven months to solidify his support base. Infantino has historically built loyalty by traveling globally to meet member associations. When elected in 2016, he stated that Uefa provided him with a budget of €500,000 (£430,000) for flights to lobby member associations for votes.

Another crucial tool for Infantino is the funding provided to the 211 member associations. The latest iteration of his investment program, Fifa Forward 3.0, concludes in December. This program has provided national associations with funding in the latest four-year cycle. It is anticipated that Fifa Forward 4.0 may further increase funding levels.

Due to this funding and his outreach efforts, Infantino maintains significant support outside of Europe and would be considered the favourite to win an election. While Uefa (with 55 members) represents his staunchest critics, the African confederation (with 54 members) has reaffirmed its unanimous support. The Asian confederation (with 46 members) criticized the FFE but did not issue a statement after the plan was aborted, with only Jordan indicating it would not vote for him.

Concacaf (with 35 members) has strongly criticized Infantino, but Mexico has already publicly backed him. The extent to which other small nations in the region, which benefit from Infantino’s funding, will maintain their opposition remains uncertain. The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), with 11 members, will issue a statement after a meeting next month, but its president, Lambert Maltock, previously lauded Infantino’s investment in grassroots football.

South America (with 10 members) has expressed concern but still supports Infantino. Argentina and Paraguay are among the countries that have publicly backed his re-election. The election will be decided by a secret ballot at the 77th Fifa Congress in Rabat, Morocco, on 18 March.

Source: bbc.com