FairSquare urges Fifa to bar Infantino from re-election over three-term limit breach

Human rights organisation FairSquare has formally called on Fifa’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) to declare Gianni Infantino ineligible for re-election, arguing the president has already served the three-term maximum permitted under the governing body’s own statutes.

Infantino has held the Fifa presidency since 2016, when he was elected at an Extraordinary Congress following Sepp Blatter’s resignation. In 2022, he successfully argued that this initial period should not count toward the three-term limit because it merely completed an interrupted mandate. FairSquare contends that interpretation directly contradicts Fifa’s rules.

“The rules state clearly that three presidential terms is the maximum allowed,” FairSquare director Nicholas McGeehan told Reuters. “Fifa can’t simply circumvent this rule — which serves as a check on presidential power — by saying that his first term doesn’t count.”

McGeehan also questioned the transparency of the 2022 ruling, pointing out that the GACC never published its reasoning and announced the apparent decision just two days before the Qatar 2022 World Cup final. “That suggests they knew full well that there was no basis to discount Infantino’s first term,” he said.

The complaint was prepared alongside Miguel Maduro, former head of Fifa’s independent Governance and Review Committee. Maduro argued the organisation cannot selectively disregard its own foundational reforms. “The principle of term limits was a fundamental aspect of the 2016 reform aimed at limiting power,” he said. “Trying to carve out an exception for Mr Infantino reveals both a resistance to the principle of term limits and how some at Fifa conceive of rules not as rules but as obstacles to be circumvented.”

Infantino is anticipated to seek re-election for the 2027–31 cycle at the Fifa Congress in Morocco on 18 March 2026. The challenge from FairSquare arrives amid broader pressure on his leadership: last week, Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf jointly requested a review of his conduct after Fifa proposed creating a $20-billion subsidiary linked to its competitions, including the World Cup, to attract private investment. Sources familiar with the matter said those three confederations viewed the letter as an opportunity for Infantino to step down with his dignity intact.