On February 26, 2016, Gianni Infantino, a Swiss of Italian origin, was elected at the age of 46 as FIFA president, replacing Sepp Blatter, who had been ousted by corruption scandals. On the same day, former England striker Gary Lineker posted a tweet that has gone viral again in recent hours: "I have a strange feeling that Gianni Infantino is going to take off his mask to reveal Sepp Blatter underneath."
Have this weird feeling that Gianni Infantino will pull off his mask to reveal Sepp Blatter.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 26, 2016
Lineker implied that Infantino gave the impression of Blatter's successor, embodying everything that critics say takes football away from its values: greed, opportunism and politics. The 65-year-old former striker's post has come back into the spotlight due to recent developments, as Infantino is attempting to turn FIFA into an even bigger profit machine, involving private capital in managing the commercial rights to the most important tournaments.
Encouraged by the continued expansion of competitions – the recently concluded 48-team World Cup could be expanded to 64 – and by rising commercial revenues, as well as on the verge of re-election for the 2027-2031 term, Infantino has presented an ambitious plan. He aims to create a controlled company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, open to private investors, which will manage the television rights to the World Cup for national teams and the Club World Cup, as well as revenue from sponsorship, ticket sales and licensing.
The Infantino-Trump axis has strengthened after the last World Cup
According to Infantino's project, the sale of a minority stake (20-30%) would bring in billions of new dollars, which would then be distributed to the federations, in addition to increasing FIFA's revenues. To secure the votes of the 211 member federations, the president has promised a funding package of $10 billion by 2027, guaranteeing up to $40 million to each federation ($20 million as an immediate grant and $20 million for development), provided they approve the proposal by September 19, 2026. According to reports, in case of rejection, the federations risk a reduction in funding of up to 75%.
Infantino has faced fierce criticism from UEFA and European leagues, who are seeking to curb the excessive commercialization of football. However, the FIFA president seems confident that he has the support of a large number of federations from other continents. Ten years ago, Gary Lineker predicted what many now believe is happening.
