Who is eligible to become FIFA president?

Any individual nominated by a FIFA member association and who passes FIFA’s eligibility and integrity checks can run, but success depends on securing a majority of votes in the FIFA Congress.

How is the FIFA president elected?

The FIFA president is elected by secret ballot of the full FIFA Congress; if no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round, additional rounds are held until one candidate has a majority.

Would UEFA’s Aleksander Čeferin be a likely candidate?

Čeferin is often mentioned as a potential dark horse because of UEFA’s influence, but any candidacy would depend on political calculations within UEFA and willingness to take on global football politics.

Power Vacuum: Who Will Fill Infantino’s Throne at FIFA?

The moment rumors of Gianni Infantino’s exit become credible, the corridors of world football will fill with emissaries, not manifestos. FIFA is less an organisation and more a marketplace of influence; the presidency has always been won by those who broker votes rather than simply by popular reform rhetoric. Expect a bustle of private conversations long before any public declarations.

If Infantino goes, contenders will come in three colours: continental heavyweights, national federation bosses and technocratic reformers with deep sponsor ties. Names routinely mentioned in backrooms include Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, while Aleksander Čeferin remains the continent-level dark horse who could unify UEFA votes. Jerome Champagne and other former FIFA executives could also surface as compromise candidates pitched as both experienced and less polarising.

The decisive factor is not charisma but arithmetic: confederation blocs, regional loyalties and commercial partners will write the script. AFC and CAF hold kingmaker power when UEFA is split, and CONMEBOL votes can swing a contest that looks decided on paper. Any successful candidate must be as fluent in vote-trading as in governance reform — and acceptable to broadcasters and sponsors who fund modern football.

The Guru’s prediction: the next president will be a compromise figure — not a revolutionary outsider, nor an absolute continuation of Infantino’s line, but someone who can stitch together AFC, CAF and parts of CONCACAF while placating UEFA interests. My recommendation: the sport needs stricter transparency rules attached to any transition, with term limits and independent oversight agreed before a new man or woman takes office. Whoever steps up should be judged first on the coalition they can sustain, then on the promises they make.