African Officials Sound Out Grafström for Fifa Challenge as 15 Federations Eye Break With Infantino
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 22
African Officials Sound Out Grafström for Fifa Challenge as 15 Federations Eye Break With Infantino
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 22
Summary
Two African federation presidents separately called Fifa general secretary Mattias Grafström last week to gauge whether he would run against Gianni Infantino in next year’s presidential election; he was surprised and stayed non-committal.
Up to 15 of Africa’s 54 Fifa members are said to be ready to abandon Infantino despite Caf’s public backing, with anger building over governance and a shift to staging the Africa Cup of Nations every four years.
Grafström’s brief distancing from Infantino’s abandoned plan to sell 20% of World Cup commercial rights appears to have encouraged opponents, even though he later signed a letter of full support and announced COO Kevin Lamour’s dismissal.
Africa could be decisive because any challenger needs 106 of Fifa’s 211 votes, and sources say Asian confederation chief Sheikh Salman could draw 10 to 15 African votes if he enters.
Potential rivals are still expected to match Infantino’s promised financial support, with African officials pointing to the shelved Fifa Forward Enterprise’s target of about $20 million a year for each association.