00:00Gianni Pantino may be living his last months as the most powerful man in world football.
00:05What until recently seemed like a sure re-election for 2027,
00:09Today it is completely in doubt due to the crisis that erupted within FIFA.
00:13And that raises a question.
00:15Who is the FIFA president and how is he elected?
00:18First, it's important to understand that the next FIFA presidential elections are scheduled for March 2027.
00:23However, those who wish to compete must officially register their candidacy before November 18, 2026.
00:30But not just anyone can take the plunge.
00:31To be eligible for the position, one must have worked actively in football for at least two of the last five years.
00:37years,
00:37to pass a FIFA utility test and, most importantly, to gain the support of at least five federations
00:43nationals.
00:43Furthermore, each federation will only be able to support one candidate.
00:46For example, if Ramón Yasurún, the current president of the Colombian Football Federation,
00:51If he wanted to run for FIFA president, he could easily do so.
00:54He meets the requirements, as he has been at the helm of Colombian football for more than a decade.
00:59He is a member of the FIFA Council and would only need to secure the support of at least five federations.
01:04However, for now, his name does not appear among the candidates.
01:07Those who have gained the most traction are Víctor Montaglini, president of CONCACAF,
01:11Alexander Zeferin, UEFA president and one of the main opponents of Infantino's management,
01:17and Matías Grasprom, current FIFA Secretary General,
01:20seen by many as an experienced figure within the organization.
01:23And how do we vote?
01:25The system is simple.
01:26Each of the 211 associations affiliated with FIFA has one vote,
01:31regardless of whether it represents a power like Argentina, Spain or Brazil,
01:36or a much smaller country, football-wise.
01:39They all cost exactly the same.
01:41The vote is secret and, if there are only two candidates, the one who gets an absolute majority wins.
01:46that is, 106 votes or more.
01:48But if three or more candidates appear, the story changes.
01:51A two-thirds majority is needed in the first round.
01:54If no one succeeds, new votes are held until one of the two candidates achieves the necessary majority.
02:01That's how Infantino became president in 2016, after two rounds of voting.
02:07So why are these elections generating so much anticipation?
02:11Because everything changed after the failure of the FIFA Forward Enterprise project,
02:15with which Jan Infantino wanted to sell 20% of the commercial business of FIFA competitions,
02:22including the World Cup, to an investment fund.
02:25The initiative was rejected by several of the main confederations.
02:29And, for the first time in a long time, support for the president began to waver.
02:35What seemed like a virtually guaranteed re-election no longer looks so clear.
02:40And this is where we need to understand something about Infantino's political strategy.
02:45The FIFA president knows perfectly well that to win an election he does not need to have Europe on his side.
02:53The Confederation openly criticizes his management.
02:56It needs to build a global majority.
02:58Therefore, during his years at the head of the organization,
03:01has sought to strengthen relations with the federations of Africa,
03:05which contributes 54 votes,
03:07and Asia, which means 46 votes.
03:09Therefore, Infantino's presence is not limited to FIFA congresses,
03:13but it has also built political relationships with leaders and governments.
03:18A very recent example was his trip to Colombia to attend the inauguration of Abelardo de las Priella,
03:24where he was received by Ramón Yasurum,
03:28President of the Colombian Football Federation.
03:30Another episode that reflects the extent of this power struggle,
03:33It happened in the last few days,
03:36when The Times newspaper published that Infantino had offered Morocco
03:40the possibility of hosting the 2030 World Cup final
03:44in exchange for political support for his re-election.
03:47FIFA denied that version and stated that the venue for the final has not yet been decided.
03:52Therefore, this cannot be presented as a confirmed agreement.
03:55And although Europe has 55 federations and can exert a huge counterweight,
04:01Infantino knows that his path to re-election depends on maintaining a majority of support in the rest of the world.
04:08And there's one fact that makes all this even more interesting.
04:11In 2019 and 2023, Infantino was re-elected without the need for a vote.
04:16because he had no rivals and was ratified by acclamation.
04:19In other words, it has been 10 years since FIFA has experienced a presidential election with real competition.
04:25Therefore, the big question is no longer just whether Gianni Infantino will seek another term.
04:31The real question is whether, for the first time in many years,
04:34Someone will have enough votes to challenge the man.
04:37that has dominated world football for the last decade.
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