The German Football Association (DFB) is avoiding a direct confrontation with Gianni Infantino, but will not support the extremely controversial FIFA President on the way to his re-election. With regard to the deadline ending on Wednesday (November 16, 2022), the DFB Executive Committee decided not to nominate a candidate for the top post at the world association.
Shortly before the start of the World Cup, the DFB renewed its criticism of the world association, which is led by the Swiss Infantino. “The fact is that many associations have already signaled their support for the incumbent President Gianni Infantino,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, referring to the FIFA Congress on March 16 in Rwanda’s capital Kigali. November 16 was the deadline for nominations for the post of senior FIFA representative.
Clearer commitment to human rights desired
The decision was also intended to express “that we would have liked FIFA to have made a clearer commitment to human rights and a greater commitment to humanitarian issues,” said Neuendorf.
The DFB expects transparent decision-making processes in FIFA and stands by its demands for the establishment of a compensation fund for the relatives of the workers who died or were injured on the World Cup construction sites in Qatar. It is also said that the DFB is still in favor of setting up a “Migrant Working Center” in Qatar.
Until the election of the new FIFA boss in March, the DFB wants to “seek constructive dialogue with FIFA on these points and work towards progress. In doing so, it is facing up to its socio-political responsibility”.
Infantino is considered unbeatable
All 211 member countries each have one vote in the presidential election. Although Infantino, who has been in office since 2016, has been accused of various misconduct, the Swiss is considered unbeatable in the vote. So far there is no other candidate for the successor to Joseph S. Blatter. Infantino had already been confirmed in office in 2019 without an opponent.
If the 52-year-old is re-elected, it would be his final term. The statutes do not allow more than twelve years at the top of FIFA. Since the continental associations from South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania have already signaled their support for Infantino, there are few question marks over his re-election.
President still has criminal proceedings ahead of him
Infantino has long faced criticism due to an ever-growing body of scandal and controversy. Criminal proceedings against the FIFA boss, who now lives partly in Qatar, are still ongoing in Switzerland.
According to Blatter (“Infantino is an impossible guy”) there will be “his reasons”: “Doha would rather not extradite him if the Swiss judiciary had something against him.”
None of this matters to Infantino’s supporters. This is primarily for financial and strategic reasons. The small countries depend on the grants from FIFA – which Infantino takes care of. And numerous large associations need those small countries if they want to keep their chances of winning the 2030 World Cup intact.