Inferno Infantino #2
Wales lead the way – but who has the bottle to stay the course?
It was one of those afternoons when I only meant to have a quick look at the scores – and then I got stuck on a news item I just couldn't shake off: Wales are withdrawing their support for Gianni Infantino's re-election as FIFA president. I'm a Bayern fan, not a Wales fan – I've made that clear on this blog before. But in that moment I couldn't have cared less whose shirt was showing the courage. My footballing heart simply thought: about time.
This isn't a coaching topic – but it's still my business
Those who know me know that this blog is usually about Systemic Coaching talent-centred©, about parents, coaches and young players, about day-to-day life in a youth academy. This post is deliberately something else. It has nothing to do with my work as a systemic coach and everything to do with me as a football person who has been in the game, heart and soul, for decades. And that is exactly why I – why none of us who love this game – can simply stand by in silence while all this plays out at the top of FIFA.
A bigger autocrat than Blatter ever was
I've already published a post on this blog called "Inferno Infantino" – and I stand by what I said, except that today I'd go a step further. Sepp Blatter had to step down in 2015 after the global FIFA corruption scandal broke; FIFA's ethics committee banned him for several years, and although a Swiss court acquitted him of fraud in 2022, the damage to the world game's reputation had long since been done. Infantino came in in 2016 promising to put an end to all that: more transparency, good governance, a fresh start. Ten years on, FIFA is run by a man who, in my view, has concentrated not less but more power in his own hands than Blatter ever dared – just with slicker PR.
Who is really selling off football
You don't even need to look only at the latest plan – the one in which Infantino wanted to raise around 4.2 billion US dollars from private investors for stakes in the World Cup through a specially created company, "FIFA Forward Enterprise", without properly involving the member associations. The plan was shelved after a storm of criticism, but it shows a pattern. The award of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia had already been fast-tracked without any serious rival bid – nodded through in passing, as it were. Anyone who makes decisions like that, over the heads of 211 member associations and, even more so, over the heads of us at the grassroots, isn't leading FIFA – he's ruling it. And what is being ruled isn't Infantino's property. It's our football. The fans' football. The football of the volunteers who mark out the lines on grassroots pitches every weekend, of the coaches, the parents and the kids coming through – all those who make this sport what it is in the first place, the very thing FIFA then claims to represent to the world. FIFA is not an institution that gets to float above us, out of reach. It answers to us. Not the other way round.
Wales lead the way – the question is who will stay the course
In August, Wales became the first association to declare officially: count us out. The Football Association of Wales (FAW) said trust in Infantino's leadership had been squandered – governance, communication, judgement, all called into question. Shortly afterwards Finland, Serbia and Sweden followed suit, then England, France and Italy. UEFA itself is now looking into legal action against FIFA.
It reminds me of another Welsh story, many centuries older: Owain Glyndŵr, who in the early 15th century led the last great Welsh fight for independence against the English crown. He very nearly brought England to its knees – until his allies, under pressure from a superior force, fell away one after another. And that is exactly my worry today: that Wales may be the brave trailblazers this time, but other associations will bottle it, afraid of ending up on the wrong side of a possible re-election – while Infantino is in Tokyo this week canvassing the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for precisely the votes he is losing in Europe. According to the Associated Press (AP), he is not far off a simple majority of the 211 member associations. Africa, Asia and South America are largely sticking with him. The strongest resistance is in Europe – and Europe alone won't be enough if the rest of the world looks the other way.
Is this just a matter of principle – or a power play as well?
One honest question belongs here: what agenda is UEFA actually pursuing in all this? Why is it suddenly such a faux pas for FIFA to go its own way – in the eyes, of all people, of the body that for decades held the biggest lever in world football?
Part of UEFA's criticism is justified on the merits; I don't want to play that down. The failed investor plan, the award of the newly created FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump in December 2025 (sharply criticised by human rights organisations, defended by Infantino in February 2026), the lack of transparency – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin addressed all of this in no uncertain terms at the General Assembly of European clubs in Copenhagen on 29 September 2026: "No politics and no amount of power gives anyone the right to sell football." And, with a nod to Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale: "Football does not need emperors." Strong words, and ones I'd happily put my name to.
But UEFA isn't entirely selfless either. At the 2023 UEFA Congress in Paris, Ceferin himself had UEFA's own term limit changed from three terms to four – and in early 2024 he then ruled out standing for a fourth term himself. In October 2026 he suddenly stood again after all, arguing that the 55 national associations had asked him to. Human rights observers such as Nick McGeehan (FairSquare) see this as exactly the trick Ceferin accuses Infantino of: a change to the statutes that formally breaks no rules but in practice amounts to the very opposite of a genuine term limit.
On top of that, there's a very real power struggle going back decades: for a long time, Europe largely steered the big decisions in world football through FIFA's old Executive Committee. Infantino's development programmes and his coalition with associations from Africa, Asia and South America have weakened precisely that European lever. And, almost in passing, the FIFA Club World Cup, which Infantino has massively expanded, now competes head-to-head with the UEFA Champions League for broadcast slots, sponsors and space in the calendar – leagues such as Spain's La Liga are already openly complaining about fixture congestion.
Does that mean we should now distrust UEFA and defend Infantino? No. It just means this isn't simply goodies versus baddies, but several powerful players who are all fighting for their own power too. That's why my appeal is deliberately aimed not at UEFA or Ceferin, but at us: at the DFB, the German Football Association, at the clubs, at the fans. The question of who football belongs to must not be left to a power struggle between two sets of blazers.
My appeal: take a stand, don't sit on the fence
To the DFB: You already refused to sign the letter of support for Infantino in the summer – a good first step. Now the next one is needed: withdraw your support actively and publicly, as Wales have done. Holding back for fear of a possible re-election isn't taking a stand – it's calculation.
To German clubs and associations: Put pressure on the DFB to take this step. Anyone who sees every day at grassroots level how much fairness and trust matter can't look the other way at the top.
To us, the fans: Talk about it. Share, comment, ask your club where it stands. FIFA lives off our passion – so it should hear our voice too.
Stay healthy – and may the ball always run your way.
Cheers, Walter
