Infantino leaves a World Cup full of controversies with re-election in his pocket

BarcelonaThe FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, breathes easy. After a World Cup with a host of fires, it seems he has gotten his way. They booed him and criticized him, true. And he has seen how, especially in Europe, politicians and journalists said he should not be the president of the institution that decides the future of world football. But the criticisms go in one ear and out the other, as he has achieved his goal: incredible audiences, selling the most expensive tickets in World Cup history, keeping Donald Trump happy, and, especially, ensuring he will continue to rule. In the elections of March 2027, he will be re-elected.

This World Cup was a geopolitical challenge, as the United States has a president who is capable of starting fires when everything seems calm. Perhaps for this reason, Infantino has done everything to keep him happy, even saying to him before the final: "This World Cup would not have been such an incredible success without you. It is the greatest human social and cultural event that humanity has ever witnessed." Months ago, he created a peace prize thinking of him. FIFA has rented him apartments in its buildings and has taken care of him as much as possible to avoid problems. And even then, he has not breathed easy.

It hasn't been an easy World Cup for Infantino. Especially when Trump decided to tell everyone that he had pressured to get the North American forward Folarin Balogun could play the round of 16 match against Belgium despite being sanctioned with a red card. In an unprecedented decision, the Disciplinary Committee commuted the sanction, relying on the discretionary Article 27 of the Disciplinary Code. The decision was made by a single person, Mohammad Al-Kamali, from the United Arab Emirates, without consulting the other members of the Committee. The fact that the United States lost that match calmed things down, but it created a big problem for Infantino, who has done everything to prevent the American president from getting angry. Almost all the national teams protested, especially UEFA, the European football federation.

Politics and football

According to FIFA statutes, political interference is prohibited, but Trump has been boasting and explaining that he had personally called Infantino to secure Balogun's pardon. Other decisions have shown that FIFA acts differently when it suits, as happened when the Argentine players were not sanctioned for displaying a banner claiming the Falklands are Argentine, but Haiti's official jersey, which contained drawings referring to its 19th-century war of independence, has been prohibited.

FIFA has also not been able to fully convince the Trump administration when it comes to treating all teams equally. Those from countries that Washington has on a blacklist have seen fans or workers unable to obtain entry visas. The most complicated situation was managing the presence at the World Cup of the Iran team, a country at war with the United States. The Iranians had to move their training camp, which was initially supposed to be in Arizona, to the other side of the border, in Tijuana. When it was their turn to play, they had to take a plane to Los Angeles or Seattle, the scene of their matches, play and return to Tijuana. More tired than other teams, they were eliminated. Pauses and chips

It has been a World Cup marked, also, by new developments, especially the mandatory three-minute hydration breaks in the 22nd and 67th minutes of each match, regardless of the climatic conditions. Although Gianni Infantino insisted that the decision was "purely sporting" and does not generate direct economic benefits for FIFA, the breaks have become a new commercial window for television networks, which have profited greatly. Breaks that have generated a strong debate and lead one to wonder if football is entering an era with four quarters, instead of two halves. A football in which technology does not avoid debates, as has happened with the use of chips inside the ball, which have not prevented complaints from Croats or Norwegians. In general, the level of arbitration has not been very high. Other debates have been the price of tickets, long journeys, matches delayed by the weather or the refusal of the United States to grant a visa to Somali referee Omar Artan. It hasn't been a great World Cup, even though FIFA is proud of it.

Infantino does not suffer

Gianni Infantino, however, seems very happy. He seems so, because despite receiving criticism from fans and journalists, he would already have the support of about 200 countries, out of the total of 211 that make up FIFA, to be re-elected president for the fourth consecutive time, as reported by The Guardian. Only a few European countries, including Germany, are leading a campaign to try to oust the Swiss, who seems destined to win next March's congress. Infantino, 56, president of FIFA since 2016, is, for the moment, the only candidate for this election, although other names may appear until November 18, when the presentation of candidacies closes.

In fact, the Swiss leader has already explained that, with a view to the 2030 World Cup, he is considering the possibility of expanding the final phase to 64 teams. If in 2022 the qualified teams were 32 and in this edition they have risen to 48, Infantino wants to continue stretching the business, and one of the reasons would be strategic. Many federations that would hardly qualify for a World Cup would currently vote for him if the competition were expanded to 64 teams. If we add up the figures of money distributed in this World Cup, the result is a scenario where Infantino can continue to lead. And he will no longer have to be so dependent on Trump for the next four years.