The maths sits at the heart of the crisis. UEFA has 55 member associations, and its executive has publicly declared it has “lost confidence” in Gianni Infantino after the collapse of the FIFA Forward Enterprise commercial-rights proposal. To remove a sitting president at an Extraordinary Congress, a simple majority of FIFA’s 211 members is required. That is 106 votes.
Confederations cannot deliver those votes. Each association casts its own ballot, and the story of the next seven months is whether UEFA’s critics can find another 51.
The 43-signature test comes first
Before any vote of no confidence can even reach the floor, 20% of FIFA’s members, meaning 43 associations, must sign a formal request that puts the motion on an Extraordinary Congress agenda. The deadline to file that request is 23 September 2026. If it lands, the Congress itself is scheduled for 23 November.
UEFA alone has more members than the 43 needed. But signatures are individual: each of its 55 associations decides on its own whether to sign, and internal European alignment is still being tested. The English FA has formally withdrawn its support for Infantino’s re-election, and Wales did the same on 3 August.
Read also: 'Who cares about mitigating circumstances?' Steiner picks apart FIA's Sainz call as Zandvoort looms
UEFA alone cannot deliver 106 votes
If the signatures arrive in time, the November Congress becomes the ballot that would decide Infantino’s tenure in a single afternoon. This is where the confederation politics harden the maths.
CAF, Africa’s federation with 54 members, unanimously reconfirmed its support for Infantino at the weekend. Argentina’s AFA has backed FIFA’s governance. Mexico’s FMF broke with the broader CONCACAF criticism and also lined up behind the president. That alone puts the removal path under severe pressure long before a ballot is called.
CONMEBOL condemned FIFA’s handling of the commercial-rights row but signalled it would rather let the ordinary March 2027 election settle the leadership, not an emergency vote. That instinct, to wait rather than trigger, is the softest part of the arithmetic for the anti-Infantino camp. Without CONMEBOL’s ten members leaning to remove, 106 becomes very hard to see.
Rabat remains the likelier decider
If Infantino survives November, or if the signatures never arrive, the calendar hands the decision back to the ordinary presidential election. Candidates must submit nominations by 18 November 2026 at 23:59 CET, backed by at least five member associations. The ballot itself is set for 18 March 2027 at the 77th FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco.
Read also: Inter Miami's answer on when Messi comes back: 'Nothing'
Infantino intends to stand for a fourth term. UEFA has not yet named a challenger. Luis Figo has called publicly for Infantino to resign, and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has said he no longer has confidence in the FIFA president, but no European candidacy has been formally lodged.
FIFPRO calls it abuse of power
The global players’ union FIFPRO said FIFA could not restore confidence in Infantino because it had “dismantled the conditions upon which confidence depends”. FIFA held its crisis meeting in Morocco on 5 August and issued an apology to member associations, saying the commercial proposal “should have been handled differently”. UEFA responded that the apology did not meet its conditions and confirmed its boycott threat still stands.
Between now and 23 September, every European federation that either signs or refuses to sign the Extraordinary Congress motion is effectively casting the first ballot of this crisis. If 43 signatures do not appear by that Wednesday, the removal path closes and the fight moves entirely to Rabat.
Read also: Racing Bulls leapfrog Alpine and take Motorsport.com's biggest positive-surprise grade of 2026
Read also: Steiner is running a MotoGP team, but he is not done with Formula 1
