Infantino laughs off resignation questions, says most of world football backs him

As of 4:25 p.m. ET, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

FIFA President Gianni Infantino laughed off questions about whether he had considered resigning and said he has the backing of the vast majority of world football, in an interview with BBC Sport.

Asked whether he was fit to be FIFA president and whether he had considered stepping down, Infantino laughed before saying, "Well you know I was elected by 211 member associations from all over the world," BBC Sport reported.

"I'm just coming back off Tokyo where the Asian Football Confederation has fully endorsed me. I was in Cape Verde where all [Confederation of] African [Football] countries have endorsed me. I'm speaking to all associations everywhere in the world," he said.

"There is nothing bad in disagreeing," Infantino said. "We see it every day in so many countries in the world. It's OK to disagree. It's OK to have different points of view, but then we need to be able to move on."

The dispute

The heads of UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF had signed a letter accusing Infantino of breaking trust through deception over the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, under which part of FIFA's commercial rights would have been sold to a private investment firm, BBC Sport reported. Infantino scrapped the plan within days, the BBC said.

Last week UEFA demanded that FIFA release all key documents relating to the proposal by Nov. 2, according to BBC Sport. Asked when he would provide them, Infantino said FIFA had to follow a legal process. "We'll answer of course all the questions that are asked as far as the process allows, as far as we can," he said, according to the BBC.

The deadline for candidates to confirm they are standing against Infantino in the March election is Nov. 18, BBC Sport reported. He spoke from Baku, Azerbaijan, where FIFA is holding an Under-15 World Cup and Festival.