FORCE HIM OUT: Fight to oust shameless FIFA chief Infantino is just getting started - and UEFA must NOT let up

In case you are interested, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) game in Rabat’s Al-Madina Stadium on Wednesday night produced a 2-1 win for Zambia over Malawi. Alas, Nigeria’s 6-2 victory over Egypt in Rabat’s Olympic Stadium meant Zambia have not qualified for the knockout stages, having been pipped on goals scored.

It was quite a dramatic denouement to Group C but the headlines were all about one man in the stands for the Malawi-Zambia game. Sat next to Mattias Grafstrom, FIFA’s general secretary, was Gianni Infantino, brazening it out after receiving support from a meeting of as many of the organisation’s management board as could be bothered attending.

Outside of Africa, the WAFCON is unlikely to get extensive coverage but the point is that Infantino was a major distraction from what should have been the main attraction. The football.

And that, apart from a myriad other things, should tell him that hanging on to power is doing the game a disservice. The FIFA statement released on Wednesday night, and signed by Infantino and Grafstrom, refers to the ‘successful delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026’.

And to the extent that it happened and a lot of people watched it, they are right. But when players and fans should be reflecting on the kaleidoscope of emotions felt in the wake of a great tournament, they are instead occupied by Infantino’s sell-off scheme, the subsequent backlash and the ramifications of him staying in power.

If you operate on an ‘every cloud/silver lining’ basis, then it spares some nations a bit of soul-searching into their World Cup performances. For example, we are now more concerned about what the Football Association is going to do about Infantino rather than what it is going to do about an extravagantly-paid manager who completely blew it at the crucial moment.

Thomas Tuchel can thank Infantino for taking away some of the heat. But Infantino’s ill-fated, money-making project has significantly coloured how we now look at World Cup 2026 and its compelling characters on the field of play.

The heroics from Vozinha, the Cape Verde keeper? The brilliance of marquee players such as Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi? Erling Haaland announcing himself on a World Cup stage?

The continuing thrill provided by Lamine Yamal? That epic Mexico-England game in the Azteca? Memories fade but these have been banished in an instant by Infantino’s behaviour.

It now feels like World Cup 2026 was just a sales pitch from Infantino to billionaire private investors. World Cup 2026 goes down in immediate history as the World Cup that was a test drive for private ownership.

It goes down as a grand finale to an Infantino plot. That plot was foiled and assumptions that Infantino would have no choice but to resign now look decidedly misguided.

Which means the fight to force him out is only just starting. It is a fight that should be led by UEFA, whose nations contributed so much to World Cup 2026, only for their efforts and achievements to be subsequently overshadowed by Infantino’s secret proposals.

There can be no letting up. When one administrator is throwing shade over the brilliance of footballers - whether that be at the World Cup or WAFCON - he simply has to be forced out.