The pressure on Gianni Infantino is mounting. Following in the footsteps of DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, Bundesliga President Hans-Joachim Watzke is now also calling for the Swiss national to step down as FIFA President – and in no uncertain terms.
Recently, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf had very clearly distanced himself from FIFA President Gianni Infantino and called for an end to his “system”. “The relationship of trust with Gianni Infantino, with this FIFA leadership, has of course been shattered,” he told RTL/ntv on the sidelines of the UEFA Executive Committee and FIFA Council meetings in Thessaloniki, Greece. Now Bundesliga President Hans-Joachim Watzke has followed suit – and has also called for the Swiss official to be replaced.
“He should go. No ifs, ands or buts,” said Watzke at the “Big Bang AI Festival” in Berlin. The 67-year-old then went on to cite three reasons why Infantino was no longer acceptable. Firstly, there was the awarding of the so-called FIFA Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump in the run-up to the World Cup; and secondly, the lifting of the ban on US striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, which had caused a great deal of controversy and criticism. And, of course, there was also Infantino’s plan – which he subsequently withdrew – to sell World Cup rights for a sum running into billions to private investors linked to Trump.
According to Watzke, the latter was “utterly insane”, especially as the entire plan had been hatched within a very small circle. “No one knows about this; his vice-presidents at FIFA knew nothing, the Council knew nothing,” said Watzke, whose word carries weight. After all, the 67-year-old sits on UEFA’s Executive Committee and is also president of Borussia Dortmund, vice-president of the DFB, chairman of the Bundesliga Supervisory Board and league president of Bundesliga e. V.
He also made it clear that a Football World Cup does not need private investors anyway, as it runs “like clockwork”. “Why would you want investors there? You don’t need them at all. FIFA is sitting on a huge mountain of money that actually belongs to us, the national associations, so what’s the point of investors? Why should I hand over 20 or 30 per cent to them when the whole thing is running smoothly?”
Pressure on Infantino remains high
Ever since Infantino’s plans to bring in investors came to light, the FIFA President has been under enormous pressure; the fact that these plans have since been shelved has done little to help his cause. The Swiss national is facing the biggest crisis of his more than ten-year tenure, yet he remains firmly in his post and intends to stand for re-election in 2027. Whether he will be re-elected remains to be seen; there is significant opposition, particularly from Europe. Critical voices are not limited to Germany; the football associations of France, Italy and the Netherlands have also already taken a stand against Infantino.
Infantino also faces trouble from England. Debbie Hewitt, the chair of the English Football Association (FA) and FIFA vice-president, has written to the Swiss official calling on him to release documents relating to his abandoned investment plan for the World Cup, as well as the lifting of the ban on US striker Folarin Balogun. This was reported by the Reuters news agency, citing a source within the FA. The next meeting of the FIFA Council is scheduled for 15 October.
