The fastest route to unseating the FIFA president, a negotiated resignation, has been shut down by the man who runs African football and sits as one of Infantino’s own FIFA vice presidents.
Speaking on Sky News, Motsepe said the challenge to Infantino must be settled at the ballot, not through a resignation demanded by other confederations.
“If anyone has got a problem against anybody, whether it’s Gianni or anybody else, follow the Fifa process. And if you want to take him out, go for elections. Simple as that.”
The vote is the 77th FIFA Congress, scheduled for 18 March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco. Infantino is standing for re-election.
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Motsepe framed the resignation demand itself as improper.
“Everybody is entitled to fair judgement and fair treatment. Everybody should be heard. Due process, governance and legality are non-negotiable.”
Why 106 is the number that decides
Removing Infantino requires a simple majority of FIFA’s 211 member associations at the ballot in Rabat: 106 votes on a one-member, one-vote ballot in which every federation counts the same, regardless of size or footballing weight.
That is where the arithmetic gets hard for Infantino’s opponents. Confederations do not control how their member associations vote; each of the 211 federations casts its own ballot, and UEFA, CONCACAF or the AFC can lobby and recommend but cannot bind their members.
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Motsepe made clear how Africa is positioned. “He’s been loyal to African football. He enjoys the support of Africa,” he said of Infantino, whose 54-strong African base gives him a floor that his opponents cannot match from any single confederation.
What UEFA can do without the votes
The pressure has built since UEFA’s 55 members voted unanimously on 1 August to withdraw from all FIFA events, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.
UEFA maintained the boycott even after Infantino abandoned his plan to sell minority stakes in the World Cup and other events to private investors, telling FIFA that only guarantees against any future attempt to commercialise the tournament that way would end the protest.
The joint letter from UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC accused Infantino of placing himself “above the collective that entrusted him with authority.” But a boycott is leverage, not a removal mechanism, and Motsepe’s intervention makes clear the Africa-led majority will not treat it as one.
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Six Arab federations back him publicly
The day Motsepe’s interview ran, six Arab federations declared their “full support” for Infantino, signalling that his coalition is holding in the parts of the game the European-led revolt has not touched. The signatories were Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan, four of them FIFA Council members.
Morocco’s involvement is not incidental. It is a co-host of the 2030 World Cup, and its capital is hosting the Congress that will decide Infantino’s future.
The first live test is on 5 September
The boycott’s first real test lands on 5 September, when Poland hosts the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup and European federations have to choose between honouring their withdrawal vote and sending teams. What they do that week will shape the political ground Infantino defends over the seven months to Rabat.
Motsepe’s message is that pressure is not a substitute for votes.
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“If there are candidates who want to stand against him, put up their names. That’s the right thing.”
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