October 26: FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has said he is “endorsed by the vast majority” of football associations as he seeks a new term at the helm of the governing body.
On the sidelines of the Under-15 World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, Infantino defended his actions in a rare interview with the BBC. The FIFA boss has faced heavy criticism over his abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, a plan to sell the World Cup to private equity.
He said: “There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing. We see it every day in so many countries around the world. It’s okay to disagree. It’s okay to have different points of view, but then we have to be able to move on.”
The BBC asked Infantino if at any point during the scandal in recent months he had considered resigning. Infantino laughed and said: “Well, you know I was elected by 211 member associations around the world. I think what’s important is that in an organization like FIFA, there can be different points of view, different points of view.”
“But if we take democracy seriously, the democratic process, the belief that everyone has the same vote and the same voice all over the world, that football belongs to everyone, if we take it seriously, we must also respect the opinions of the vast majority.”
“I’ve just come back from Tokyo, where the Asian Football Confederation has fully supported me. I was in Cape Verde, where all the African countries have supported me. I’m talking to all the associations around the world.”
Last week, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it was backing Infantino at an extraordinary congress in Tokyo.
The AFC had been one of three confederations to strongly oppose Infantino after his World Cup favoritism plans, but while UEFA has always maintained that Infantino crossed a red line, Infantino enjoyed support, first in Qatar and then in Saudi Arabia, even before AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa endorsed him in Japan.
Today, the FIFA president was backed by the confederation of Asia, Africa and South America, leaving UEFA isolated in its fight to remove him from his post.
UEFA questioned Infantino at a recent FIFA Council in Zurich, but the FIFA boss refused to answer questions. The European governing body, which also filed motions in US courts seeking discovery of documents related to the FFE, has set FIFA a November 2 deadline to answer its questions and release documents.
Infantino said: “We will, of course, answer all the questions that are asked to the extent that the process allows, to the extent that we can.”
The deadline for candidates to confirm they will run against Infantino is November 18.
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