Who Will Be the Next FIFA President?

[el che]

It looks like Gianni Infantino's grip on FIFA is finally starting to slip, I wanted to start a thread to see what everyone thinks about who might be stepping up to take over the role next.

After everything that has gone down recently regarding FIFA's plan to sell off a 20% commercial stake in future World Cups to private equity investors for $20 billion, Infantino is facing unprecedented backlash. Offering $20 million bribes to individual federations backfired and major confederations including UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation have all officially rejected the proposal. Figures like La Liga president Javier Tebas have openly called for his resignation, German FA president Bernd Neuendorf refused to endorse his re election and the Football Association of Wales became the first association to officially announce they will not support him.

The next FIFA presidential election is set for March 18, 2027, at the 77th FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, with a candidate declaration deadline of November 18, 2026. However there is growing speculation that he might not even make it that far. If 19 of the 37 members of the FIFA Council call an emergency meeting or if 43 member associations formally request an extraordinary congress, he could face a vote of no confidence and be forced out well before the 2027 vote.

As of August 5, 2026, betting markets, prediction platforms and media reporting
(including figures aggregated via FourFourTwo, CSB, Polymarket, Kalshi and Paddy Power)
have established the following probabilities and odds:

Current President & Market Predictions

Gianni Infantino (Status / Removal Odds):
Polymarket: 68% chance to remain in office through end of 2026 (32% chance of removal)
Kalshi: 40% chance of leaving his role before year-end
Paddy Power: 1.25 (1/4) to keep his job by year-end


Potential Challengers & Candidates

Aleksander Ceferin (UEFA President): 2.20 (Favorite)
Nasser Al-Khelaifi (PSG President / ECA Chairman): 3.00
Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (AFC President): 5.00
Victor Montagliani (CONCACAF President): 5.00
Arsène Wenger (FIFA Global Football Development Head): 9.00
Patrice Motsepe (CAF President): 13.00
Lise Klaveness (Norwegian FA President): 19.00
Outliers (Carles Puyol, Fabio Cannavaro, Pep Guardiola, Gareth Southgate): 34.00
Sepp Blatter (Former FIFA President): 51.00

I will be updating this list regularly whenever new candidates surge or when there are major shifts in the odds.

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

[Smack That Ace]

If Infantino leaves but the same voting system remain, where each of the 211 member states has an equal vote then the new president will essentially be forced to form political coalition. Can you change everything with just good governance? no way.

So I don't think FIFA will be fixed just by new faces. And I don't pay too much attention to bookmakers odds. They actually show market sentiment. These are not certain probabilities. Most important thing here is who can form a coalition of how many votes. It is not about who is popular.

[Dogedegen]

I actually saw this thread first before the Ballon d'or race in another one, but I decided to write and vote there first because it was much easier to consider. The other thread also had a poll with ideas where people are already leaning, so we have to think about our own but also the decision and voting process here is much more complicated. If we look how the political side of FIFA has been recently but also in some periods of the past, we can see that there is a disconnection between what the fans want and what they are doing. They have had many bad decisions in the past, many scandals and other issues and have received a lot of criticism.

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

If you look at the history of these things in FIFA, you will see that removals are difficult and happen rarely. Often it is in cases like this where something really bad has been done or proposed and there is significant backlash and change. I am not sure that what he has tried to do is enough to get him kicked out, and if we think that the election is not that far away I think he stands a fair shot of surviving this till the end of his presidency. For now I agree with the bookies for this one so Aleksander Ceferin, but I do not have a very strong opinion. But whoever gets it I just hope that they stop making bad decisions like Infantino, that would be a good enough change for me.

If Infantino leaves but the same voting system remain, where each of the 211 member states has an equal vote then the new president will essentially be forced to form political coalition. Can you change everything with just good governance? no way.

So I don't think FIFA will be fixed just by new faces. And I don't pay too much attention to bookmakers odds. They actually show market sentiment. These are not certain probabilities. Most important thing here is who can form a coalition of how many votes. It is not about who is popular.

It is difficult to consider this option, we can clearly see the downsides of this voting system because we see how it has behaved in reality and have experience with it. If we consider what system would be better to replace it with, that becomes very hard and theoretical. I would say that is the primary reason why these things change very slowly. The alternative may sound better but then when you try to do it in reality it can even be worse than the current thing.

[Cryptomultiplier]

It looks like Gianni Infantino's grip on FIFA is finally starting to slip, I wanted to start a thread to see what everyone thinks about who might be stepping up to take over the role next.

After everything that has gone down recently regarding FIFA's plan to sell off a 20% commercial stake in future World Cups to private equity investors for $20 billion, Infantino is facing unprecedented backlash. Offering $20 million bribes to individual federations backfired and major confederations including UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation have all officially rejected the proposal. Figures like La Liga president Javier Tebas have openly called for his resignation, German FA president Bernd Neuendorf refused to endorse his re election and the Football Association of Wales became the first association to officially announce they will not support him.

The next FIFA presidential election is set for March 18, 2027, at the 77th FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, with a candidate declaration deadline of November 18, 2026. However there is growing speculation that he might not even make it that far. If 19 of the 37 members of the FIFA Council call an emergency meeting or if 43 member associations formally request an extraordinary congress, he could face a vote of no confidence and be forced out well before the 2027 vote.

As for who could be the next FIFA president, bookmakers have already started posting early odds. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is currently listed as the favorite at 2.20, followed by PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi at 3.00. CAF president Patrice Motsepe is sitting around 13.00, while Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness is priced at 19.00. They even have distant outsider odds for names like Carlos Puyol, Fabio Cannavaro and Pep Guardiola at 34.00.

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

I think Infantino would try to cling to power till 2027 before any vote if confidence would be passed at a Congress meeting. A vote of no confidence as such would require 106 out of 211 member associations to vote him out of office and be replaced by any of the possible replacements you already mentioned.

I believe a good criteria for the next FIFA president is someone who has the IQ to bridge the current political divide between Europe and South America and the rest of the world.

I don't know who to pick though but I think someone who has a close experience like the UEFA president, Aleksander Caferin suits the role better than Pep Guardiola or any other football manager for that matter.

[Die_empty]

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

Wales, Finland, Serbia, England and Sweden have rescinded their endorsement for Gianni Infantino's reelection. Speculation is strong that all 55 UEFA (European) member nations are expected to withdraw their endorsements. Qatar,  the United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, and Kuwait are still supporting his reelection. Some African countries, including Morocco and Egypt, are also backing him. I don't think he would be removed before his tenure ends. I guess aggrieved countries will be waiting to punish him during the next elections.

The FIFA president is paying the price for dealing with the wrong people. He was motivated to turn FIFA into a business owned by his friends. Football doesn't need someone like him as president because he would destroy the beautiful game.

I like what Nasser Al-Khelaifi has done at PSG. He has turned the French side into a force in Europe. He is my preferred choice.

[iv4n]

"It's solely about the financial advantages; everything else is completely ignored," he said.

The European Leagues opposed this because it would add ​more matches to an already packed international ⁠calendar to the detriment of national championships, Schaefer said.

"Nobody knew about the ​plans, not even the FIFA Council, ‌the governing body of FIFA. I was ​very surprised that the president was acting completely alone in this matter."

https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/football/2026/08/02/soccer-fifa-chief-infantino039s-position-looks-unacceptable-head-of-european-leagues-says

I saw this article a few days ago...

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

Infantino is done, but I doubt that anyone new can change much... It's all about the money, and we all know that. One president leaves, another arrives, but the system stays the same. And that system is designed to make more & more money, because that's what drives everything...

[programmer3666]

It is a mess right now and Infantino is losing support fast. The $20 billion World Cup deal backfired badly UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian federation all rejected it and the bribe attempt just made things worse.  Well, if by chance he does get forced out, I will like to see an African take the charge next!! Perhaps Patrice Motsepe. Just to see how it goes. They have been running CAF for a while and seriously it is about time someone from outside Europe gets a proper shot at the top job not just interim situations.

[Hypnotizer]

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

I don’t think he’ll be forced out of office before the election next year even though UEFA are mounting pressure on him to resign, I think he would continue leading till the next election where he’ll possibly be voted out if he contests.

With the way things are going, I think the current UEFA president might want to come for this seat and Infantino made a mistake by giving him a very perfect opportunity to strike and take over. He might probably be the next FIFA president though.

[MorganaX]

It is a mess right now, and Infantino is losing support fast. The $20 billion World Cup deal backfired badly UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian federation all rejected it and the bribe attempt just made things worse.  Well, if by chance he does get forced out, I will like to see an African take the charge next!! Perhaps Patrice Motsepe. Just to see how it goes. They have been running CAF for a while and seriously it is about time someone from outside Europe gets a proper shot at the top job, not just interim situations.

Lol 😆 c'mon man, you mean the same CAF president that was called out for his practices during the last concluded African Cup of Nations?

No disrespect, but I don't think Patrice Motsepe is going to have that seat, not that it won't be great to see changes, but for now UEFA is exactly the man on the radar if that's what we gonna see any regime change for the office of the FIFA president.

[Moreno233]

The just concluded world cup exposed a lot of flaws in FIFA, unfortunately, Infantino have to bear the brunt. I knew that the criticism of how FIFA handled the world cup was definitely going to lead to something like a change in leadership and I doubt Infantino will survive it. I was thinking he would because if he grip of the African and Asian block but seeing CAF president on the possible option, I doubt he will survive the pressure. UEFA president still remain the favorite because most of the criticism of Infantino are not far from his knowledge.

[EL MOHA]

No disrespect, but I don't think Patrice Motsepe is going to have that seat, not that it won't be great to see changes, but for now UEFA is exactly the man on the radar if that's what we gonna see any regime change for the office of the FIFA president.

First thing is that if Infantino gets a vote of confidence and gets on the ballot box he will most certainly win because most of the people voting are still on his side although some continental associations are having a vote of no confidence on him, maybe we would see him win like Sepp blatter and then resign due to pressure but I doubt because unlike Sepp blatter he doesn’t have any publicly published corruption cases at the moment, just policy problem.

For the president I think most of your are underrating the influence of Nasser Al-Khelaif, currently he has a strong and very good relationship with some top UEFA body most especially how he has managed a team so strong and we cannot deny the fact that when the elections comes in he can influences changes with his capacity. Another top challenger will be the UEFA president but he is also not free from scandals too, he doesn’t have the support of all this members at the moment and this gives Nasser Al-Khelaif an advantage because he can split that vote and with Asian vote almost his, he can just campaign to CONCACAF because CAF will be voting massively for Motsepe except many west African countries

[rdluffy]

And there's already a poll on Polymarket on whether Infantino will be able to finish his term

30% bet he won't


https://polymarket.com/event/gianni-infantino-out-as-fifa-president-by-december-31-20260706195547871

[red4slash]

The wave of criticism came after the World Cup ended and it was very natural because I personally consider that for this World Cup FIFA is only targeting money as a benchmark considering the many commercial things they do and of course political intrigue is one of the things that although taboo but cannot be released even though sports events especially the World Cup should not be juxtaposed with politics.

For the issue of selling the shares that are owned though this discourse but when looking at the wave of criticism that continues it is not continued and Infantino has confirmed that this proposal is not continued.

For the next FIFA president issue I think this will be a little difficult because even though there are a series of names and Nasser Al Khelaifi in the spotlight I don't seem to care too much or don't want to be in this environment even though if he wants it looks like there will be a lot of support for him but on the one hand if there will be a vote for fifa president I hope there is no political interference in it because to be honest now sports are starting to be mixed with political affairs so it is difficult to make fairplay as a slogan If this continues.

[Ryu_Ar1]

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

It's like a wild ball now where all forms of Infantino's behavior will continue to be glimpsed because there are many who do not like the way he was during his tenure especially after the discourse of the sale of FIFA shares although it has also been confirmed that this will not continue but to see the next FIFA president is obviously difficult.

Caferin is still a strong candidate but if there is a vote between Caferin and Infantino then Caferin will not get a chance because he will be very difficult to compete in terms of voting. For Nasser Al-Khelaifi he actually fits in with the power he has now but looking from this article it looks like he doesn't want to get involved either whereas there are a great many who support him including the European football federations of Poland and Belgium.

On Wednesday evening, a representative for al-Khelaifi said: “Nasser has absolutely no ambition, no intention, no interest in the FIFA role, and he will continue to discreetly support all the institutions of world and European football.”

For now I actually see that this election of the new president of FIFA will end the same as it did with the election of the owner of the Madrid club some time ago where the voting took place only for formalities but for the result Infantino will not be replaced.

[sokani]

I don't know what will happen. Whether Infantino will be kicked out before the election or not. But if he eventually remains as president, I hope he does not win the next election. He's money-driven. He is turning the game into something else and as such does not deserve to be at the helm of affairs.

[eaLiTy]

~
Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

The fact that UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation all stood together to reject the $20 billion deal shows his grip is definitely slipping. Usually, he can rely on smaller federations to pass whatever he wants, but trying to hand out $20 million bribes completely backfired on him this time. When you have major figures like Javier Tebas and Bernd Neuendorf openly turning against him, it becomes a massive problem.

If there is a vote of no confidence before the next election, we could see him forced out early. As for the next president, Aleksander Ceferin makes the most sense as the favorite since he led the pushback against the deal. I highly doubt Infantino can wiggle out of this situation again.

[Dunamisx]

The issue to be fixed is not by the president they are having all the one to elect into office after this tenure is over, but I think there is something wrong with the process and those that are behind the implementation of some of its policies and decision makers within the system, this same people can dictate for a new President that we emerge and things will always be the same as long as there is no changing policies and those behind the pillars of the decision making.

[un_rank]

Those are some weird names in the hat. With how vocal UEFA was against the proposal and events at the world cup, Ceferin may not show any interest at being FIFA president, lest it could be interpreted to have been his aim all the while they attacked actions and policies of FIFA. I see no reason thr PSG owner should be in the mis at all.

The CAF president is a good shout but the fact they did not take a direct stand against the initially proposed FFE plan means we may just be getting another Infantino into office.

- Jay -

[Davidvictorson]

It looks like Gianni Infantino's grip on FIFA is finally starting to slip, I wanted to start a thread to see what everyone thinks about who might be stepping up to take over the role next.

After everything that has gone down recently regarding FIFA's plan to sell off a 20% commercial stake in future World Cups to private equity investors for $20 billion, Infantino is facing unprecedented backlash. Offering $20 million bribes to individual federations backfired and major confederations including UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation have all officially rejected the proposal. Figures like La Liga president Javier Tebas have openly called for his resignation, German FA president Bernd Neuendorf refused to endorse his re election and the Football Association of Wales became the first association to officially announce they will not support him.

The next FIFA presidential election is set for March 18, 2027, at the 77th FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, with a candidate declaration deadline of November 18, 2026. However there is growing speculation that he might not even make it that far. If 19 of the 37 members of the FIFA Council call an emergency meeting or if 43 member associations formally request an extraordinary congress, he could face a vote of no confidence and be forced out well before the 2027 vote.

As for who could be the next FIFA president, bookmakers have already started posting early odds. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is currently listed as the favorite at 2.20, followed by PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi at 3.00. CAF president Patrice Motsepe is sitting around 13.00, while Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness is priced at 19.00. They even have distant outsider odds for names like Carles Puyol, Fabio Cannavaro and Pep Guardiola at 34.00.

Do you think Infantino will be forced out early or will he manage to cling to power until 2027? Who would you actually like to see lead FIFA out of this mess?

I don’t think he will be forced out. He has too many powerful allies who would lobby others against the idea.
These guys, Carles Puyol, Fabio Cannavaro and Pep Guardiola are not strong contenders at all. It is most likely going to be the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin that would be the next FIFA president.

[Hispo]

I am not actually surprised there are people speculating and betting on who could be the next president of the FIFA, though, I would be surprised if there was some people who assume a change on the presidency of the FIFA would be translated into a reduction of corruption and bribes within the organization.

I am not even interested in betting on this market, I am rather interested on seeing how the new person will manage the alledged corruption. Beyond denying all accusations and possible proof.

Anyways, Infantino has go anyways, he already tainted the name of the FIFA during this lastest world cup.