Embattled Infantino gunning for fresh term

PARIS, France (AFP) — Gianni Infantino will stand in next March's International Football Federation (FIFA) presidential election, despite the backlash over his now-abandoned plan to bring private investment into the World Cup, football's global governing body announced Sunday.

"The FIFA president announced in April that he will stand for re-election in 2027," a FIFA spokesperson said. "Of course, nothing has changed. Mr Infantino will be standing for reelection."

The 56-year-old Swiss has taken a pummelling since the announcement in late July of his short-lived FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan to bring private investment into FIFA events.

But now for the first time since the plan became public, FIFA has reiterated Infantino's intention to run for a fourth and final term in next year's elections.

Should he be reelected, he will continue to serve as head of world football until 2031.

Infantino is in Poland for the Women's Under-20 World Cup, but refused to answer queries about his future when questioned by journalists on Saturday.

European body, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has accused Infantino of "criminal mismanagement" over the scheme and was the ringleader of the initial fightback to the announcement, including threatening to boycott all FIFA competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups, if it was not shelved.

If UEFA withdrew its threat to boycott FIFA tournaments on 27 August — ahead of the Women's U20 World Cup in Poland — it remains absolute in its conviction that Infantino must depart his role.

The European body has filed requests in the United States for the disclosure of documents related to the plan from FIFA and partners.

If successful in gaining access to the documents, UEFA had said it intends to lodge a legal complaint in Switzerland, saying it has been assured the case would meet the requirements to be heard in a Swiss court.