Human rights organization FairSquare has urged FIFA to rule Gianni Infantino ineligible to seek another term as president, arguing that he has already reached the three-term limit set out in the governing body's statutes.
The complaint adds another challenge to Infantino's bid for reelection as pressure mounts ahead of next year's FIFA Congress in Morocco, where the 56-year-old Swiss is expected to seek a fourth term covering the 2027-31 cycle.
FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office. But in 2022, Infantino successfully argued that his first period as president, which began in 2016 after the resignation of Sepp Blatter and ended in 2019, should not count because he had completed an interrupted mandate.
FIFA's Council unanimously endorsed that interpretation in December 2022, ruling that the 2016-19 period did not constitute a full presidential term.
FairSquare disputes that decision.
In a letter to FIFA's Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee, known as the GACC, the organization argued that FIFA cannot create an exception to its own term-limit rules to allow Infantino to remain in power.
"The complaint we have filed provides clear evidence that this is a clear breach of the rules and one that sets a very dangerous precedent," FairSquare director Nicholas McGeehan told Reuters.
"The rules state clearly that three presidential terms is the maximum allowed. FIFA can't simply circumvent this rule, which serves as a check on presidential power, by saying that his first term doesn't count."
The complaint was prepared with assistance from Miguel Maduro, the former head of FIFA's independent Governance and Review Committee. Maduro said term limits were a central part of the reforms FIFA adopted in 2016 following the corruption scandal that engulfed the organization under Blatter.
"The principle of term limits was a fundamental aspect of the 2016 reform aimed at limiting power, and the rule introduced is clear: no FIFA president can serve more than three terms of office," Maduro said.
"Trying to carve out an exception to such a rule for Mr. Infantino reveals both a resistance to the principle of term limits and how some at FIFA conceive of rules not as rules but as obstacles to be circumvented."
Pressure builds around Infantino
The term-limit challenge comes as Infantino faces growing opposition over his leadership and a controversial plan to create a $20 billion FIFA subsidiary linked to the organization's competitions.
FIFA had proposed selling as much as a 20% stake in the subsidiary to private equity investors, with the aim of raising about $4.2 billion. The plan triggered a backlash inside and outside the organization.
Kevin Lamour, FIFA's chief operating officer, publicly criticized the proposal last month, saying FIFA employees had been "deceived" about the plan and describing it as "the project of one person."
"Our mission ... is to serve football, not to serve the personal interests of a person who, unfortunately, believes he embodies FIFA when he is supposed to be at its service," Lamour said.
FIFA said Monday that Lamour's employment had ended on Aug. 17.
"FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA's Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026," a FIFA spokesperson said. "FIFA thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future. No further comment will be made on the matter."
Lamour joined FIFA's senior leadership team in November 2024 after previously working within Infantino's inner circle during the campaign that led to Infantino's election in 2016.
His departure came shortly after Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, resigned in protest of the commercial rights proposal, calling it "a bad deal for football." Infantino withdrew the proposal later that day, but the controversy has continued to reverberate through FIFA.
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF last week called for an independent review of Infantino's conduct. Sources familiar with the situation said the three confederations viewed the FairSquare complaint as a potential opening for Infantino to step aside.
Infantino continues to have strong backing from the African and South American confederations, but the growing opposition means his reelection campaign, once widely viewed as a formality, is facing a significantly more difficult political landscape.
Scottish FA joins opposition
National associations have also begun to publicly distance themselves from Infantino.
Scottish Football Association Chief Executive Ian Maxwell told the BBC on Monday that Scotland would not support Infantino's reelection.
The opposition from UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF represents a significant challenge given the influence of the confederations within FIFA's political structure.
The election is scheduled for March 18, 2027, in Morocco.
FairSquare also questioned why FIFA has never publicly explained the reasoning behind its 2022 decision to exclude Infantino's first period in office from the term limit.
McGeehan said the lack of transparency raised further questions about the legitimacy of the decision.
"The fact they didn't provide any reasoning to support this claim, and that they announced the apparent decision two days before the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, suggests that they knew full well that there was no basis to discount Infantino's first term," he said.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the FairSquare complaint.
Political neutrality
The latest complaint is not FairSquare's first attempt to challenge Infantino's conduct.
The organization filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee over Infantino's alleged breach of the IOC's rules on political neutrality following his public support for U.S. President Donald Trump. The complaint was rejected last month.
Infantino has been an IOC member since 2020.