PSG president viewed as a candidate for the FIFA presidency

European football associations are considering Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al‑Khelaifi as a potential rival to current FIFA head Gianni Infantino in the 2027 election and are ready to support his candidacy, Politico reports.

At the center of the current standoff is FIFA's plan to create a commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise. According to the federation leadership's plan, the new organization would receive media and commercial rights to tournaments, including the World Cup. To finance the project, FIFA intends to raise up to $4.2 billion through the sale of roughly 20% of the entity's shares. In exchange for support of the initiative, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has offered football federations additional subsidies.

The initiative has met with resistance from a number of major confederations. Criticism has been voiced by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), as well as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). UEFA also convened an emergency online meeting to work out a common position. Among the possible measures being considered is even a boycott of tournaments held under the auspices of FIFA. This is not the first instance of a tough stance from UEFA: in 2021 the organization opposed holding the World Cup every two years and allowed for the possibility of boycotting the tournament.

Discussion of a potential alternative to Infantino intensified among representatives of European federations during the 2026 World Cup. The most serious candidate is considered to be Nasser Al‑Khelaifi — president of the French club Paris Saint‑Germain and head of the company Qatar Sports Investments. Al‑Khelaifi has led the Paris club since 2011, has been chairman of the European Football Clubs (EFC) association since 2021, sits on the UEFA executive committee and represents the EFC on the FIFA Council.

The current FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, took charge of the federation in 2016. The election of the organization's new head is scheduled for March 18, 2027; it will be held in Rabat.

Source: Championat