Qatar veto and hesitant rivals leave Gianni Infantino far from beaten | OneFootball

Qatar veto and hesitant rivals leave Gianni Infantino far from beaten | OneFootball

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·1 October 2026

Qatar veto and hesitant rivals leave Gianni Infantino far from beaten

Article image:Qatar veto and hesitant rivals leave Gianni Infantino far from beaten

Plans to back Asian confederation chief Salman bin-Ebrahim al-Khalifa as a challenger to FIFA president Gianni Infantino have been checked by a Qatari veto, a scenario that currently benefits the incumbent.

According to L'Équipe, the Bahraini was viewed as a plausible option for the next elective congress, but Qatar has, for now, blocked that route.


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Opponents want to unseat Infantino yet remain unsure how to do it. A shelved summer proposal to sell part of FIFA's assets, including the World Cup, to private funds close to Donald Trump triggered a storm.

That backlash convinced UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin that swift action was required to bring the Italian-Swiss president's reign to an end.

For the moment, however, with Qatar resistant and potential rivals hesitant, Infantino looks far from beaten ahead of FIFA's next vote.

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”

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