2026 World Cup: Is Balogun a disgrace to bring down Infantino?

Uefa drew new battle lines on Tuesday, when it expressed disapproval of Balogun’s decision.

The European football governing body said Fifa had “crossed a red line” and described it as “an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision”.

But it was not the first time Uefa crossed swords with Fifa.

In May 2025, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin led a delegation of European delegates to organize a walkout during the break at the Fifa Congress.

Infantino was on a Middle East diplomatic mission alongside Trump and arrived two hours and 17 minutes late.

Uefa is looking to score political points during the World Cup as well.

As soon as Artan arrived home in Somalia last month Uefa announced that he had been invited to referee the Uefa Super Cup between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa on August 12.

Throughout this year, Uefa has been keen to highlight how cheap Euro 2028 tickets are compared to the World Cup. It will not introduce hydration breaks, or red cards for players who close their mouths.

Infantino, remember, comes from Uefa. For many years he was the man who launched the Champions League.

He may not be the most out there these days – he gave a speech at the Uefa Congress in February – but there is a clear conflict.

Considering all this, should Infantino’s position be in doubt?

On the contrary. Infantino is loved by many organizations around the world – and much of that depends on the development of the FIFA game.

Infantino’s Fifa Forward program has funded football projects around the world, and has created opportunities through the extended World Cup.

Sixteen additional nations are now eligible – most from confederations with less depth. Europe only got three more places.

This World Cup has shown that below the high level, Asia and Concacaf have a lot of work to do to be able to compete.

But Infantino offered a dream, a hope that nations that have never played in a World Cup could just get there. Like Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

Despite all the criticism of the 48-team format, it gave Cape Verde the opportunity to realize its dream.

And it will allow smaller football nations to grow their game and become stronger – and that’s a benefit to football around the world?

Getting caught?

Tournaments like the World Cup, with huge ticket prices, pay for these projects.

This year, FIFA is expected to bring in $9bn (£7.9bn)

Uefa may argue a lot with Fifa and Infantino, but European football is rich in this game. In particular, it can be self-sustaining.

The rest of the game depends on Infantino and the money generated by Fifa.

There are 211 countries within FIFA. Each gets a vote in the presidency, 106 are needed to win the election.

Let’s look at the statistics.

In April, Conmebol – the South American confederation – said its 10 countries would support Infantino.

Three weeks later, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) unanimously confirmed the support of its 54 member associations.

Soon after, the 47 countries of the Asian Football Confederation followed.

Infantino already has 111 votes. He cannot be beaten.

Even if Uefa thought they could nominate someone who could mount the challenge, the race is on.

Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023. It would take something truly remarkable for anyone to stand up to him, let alone beat him in 2027.