Greek FA and Bierhoff add to Infantino pressure ahead of FIFA vote
Pressure on Gianni Infantino’s FIFA presidency has widened further after the Greek Football Association and former Germany national team director Oliver Bierhoff backed calls for leadership change, adding to the growing European opposition ahead of the March 2027 election.
The Greek Football Association has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president, adding another national federation to the European bloc pushing for change at the top of world football.Greek FA president Makis Gagatsis said the decision reflected concerns over both recent FIFA controversies and the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise plan.Gagatsis said: “The Greek FA has taken a clear position against a candidacy of Gianni Infantino. We saw things happen at the World Cup that are not acceptable to football public opinion.“Then came a programme to sell World Cup rights and we are clearly against it, so we withdrew our support of the FIFA president.”The comments came after a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Thessaloniki, where European officials continued discussions around FIFA’s leadership and governance.Former Germany national team director Oliver Bierhoff also backed the push for change, arguing that trust in FIFA’s direction had deteriorated.Bierhoff said: “We have to take care of football. It is already commercial but it is a property for all of football.“The world views may be different but in the last weeks and months a lot happened so that we have no trust any more that it will be going in the right direction.”Infantino has faced sustained pressure since presenting a proposal to sell a commercial stake linked to FIFA competitions to private investors.The plan drew opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF before being abandoned, with FIFA subsequently apologising to member associations over how the process had been handled.The fallout has developed into a broader challenge over governance and transparency rather than the failed transaction alone.France, Denmark and several other European federations have also withdrawn or questioned their support, while FIFPRO Europe has called for structural reforms to FIFA’s decision-making model.UEFA has separately pursued information in the US connected to the abandoned transaction as it considers possible legal action in Switzerland.Despite that pressure, Infantino still retains substantial support outside Europe and has said he intends to stand again in March 2027.His opponents face a November deadline to nominate an alternative candidate, but no clear challenger has yet emerged.The immediate question is therefore whether the widening European opposition can translate into a credible leadership challenge or instead strengthens calls to reduce the power concentrated around the FIFA presidency.