The football world turns against Infantino, Morocco comes to his aid
As Gianni Infantino faces one of the most serious crises of his presidency at FIFA, Morocco has now clearly taken a position. Fouzi Lekjaa has joined five other Arab football officials in offering his “full support” to the head of world football.
The gesture comes at the worst possible moment for Infantino. UEFA, the Asian Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf have turned against him following the failure of his project to open up part of the World Cup’s commercial rights to private investors. Several federations have also withdrawn the support they had previously given him for his re-election.
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It is in this context that Morocco has chosen its side. According to Reuters, Fouzi Lekjaa signed a joint statement with the presidents of the football federations of Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Mauritania, affirming their “full support” for Gianni Infantino and their confidence in his leadership of FIFA.
The six officials notably praised his efforts to develop football around the world and announced that they wanted to continue cooperating with him. The support goes beyond a mere diplomatic statement: four of the six signatories, including Fouzi Lekjaa, also sit on the FIFA Council.
A battle that will ultimately be decided in Morocco
Morocco’s position takes on particular significance just months before a decisive deadline. Infantino has announced that he will seek a new term and the next FIFA president will be elected at the 77th Congress, to be held on 18 March 2027 in Rabat.
Each federation will then have one vote, regardless of its size. The opposition expressed by powerful confederations therefore does not mean that all their members will vote against Infantino. The support of Morocco, Egypt, Qatar, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan shows precisely that internal divisions are far from settled.
Morocco is, moreover, no longer limiting itself to implicit support. As soon as the controversial project was withdrawn, Fouzi Lekjaa had praised Infantino’s decision, saying that the unity of the football family should take precedence over disagreements. This time, the position is much clearer: at a time when several European federations are withdrawing their confidence in the FIFA president, Rabat is choosing to remain at his side.
This choice comes as Moroccan interests at FIFA are considerable. The Kingdom will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal and still hopes to host the competition’s final. FIFA has nevertheless denied that Infantino promised Morocco this match in exchange for any kind of support.
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The crisis surrounding Infantino is thus taking a singular turn for Morocco: the Kingdom is now openly supporting a contested president whose future will be decided, in a few months, in Rabat.
