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Photo: Capital Sports
Norway want Infantino out — FIFA splits
Norway's football federation has publicly called for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA president — and Mexico and Argentina have, according to reports, just as publicly told him to stay. A reported attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors has, if accurate, cracked FIFA's membership down the middle, with the 2026 tournament approaching. FIFA has been contacted for comment; no response was available at time of publication.
The resignation call
The Norway Football Federation's demand is direct: Infantino should go. According to Capital Sports, the call follows the collapse of a plan that would have seen private investors take stakes in the World Cup — a commercialisation move that, had it landed, would have fundamentally altered how the sport's flagship tournament is owned and monetised. Norway's federation argues, per that report, that Infantino's pursuit of the plan is disqualifying.
Flagside has not been able to independently verify the full details of the investment proposal. FIFA and Infantino's office have been contacted for comment; no response was available at time of publication.
For a European federation to issue a public resignation demand against a sitting FIFA president — during a World Cup year, no less — is not routine political noise. It is a significant escalation.
The counter
Mexico and Argentina are not staying quiet, according to Capital Sports. Both federations are reported to have moved to back Infantino, creating a visible fault line between a prominent European voice and two of Latin America's most powerful football nations. Argentina are the reigning world champions; Mexico are a co-host of the 2026 World Cup. Their reported endorsement gives Infantino a platform to absorb the pressure.
Why this matters beyond the headlines
The aborted private-investment plan is the immediate trigger, but the deeper issue — if reports hold — is the direction FIFA has been heading under Infantino's leadership: aggressive commercialisation, expanded tournaments, and deals that critics argue prioritise revenue over the sport's integrity. Norway's call is, per Capital Sports, a sharp expression of that European frustration.
What remains unclear is how wide the opposition actually runs. The full details of the investment plan and the extent of support or dissent across FIFA's 211 member associations are not yet fully reported by independent outlets. Whether other European federations line up behind Norway — or quietly distance themselves — will determine whether this is a genuine governance crisis or an isolated protest that Infantino can ride out.
Either way, the 2026 World Cup now has a political subplot running alongside it.
Sources1 source
Flagside's editors read every piece we publish. We work from the football press, write our own copy rather than reprinting anyone's, and check each article for accuracy and sourcing. Every outlet that fed into this piece is named under Sources.
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