“The game’s gone,” is a phrase thrown about all the time on social media and in football punditry. A decision didn’t go your team’s way? The game’s gone. Transfer fees bloated beyond comprehension? The game’s gone. American and petrochemical dollars buying all football clubs? The game’s gone. AFTV spewing constant nonsense? The game’s really gone.

However, a recent decision by the president of football’s global governing body in the wake of the most successful World Cup of all time really did threaten to take the game away.

Gianni Infantino took over the presidency of Fifa in difficult times, immediately after the ousting of Swiss countryman Sepp Blatter in 2016, after the latter’s conviction on bribery and corruption charges.

Having served as the secretary-general of the European football confederation (UEFA) for seven years, Infantino steadied the ship and brought about an era in which more emphasis was put on grassroots football development in emerging countries and on the women’s game.

Just one month ago, Fifa president Gianni Infantino seemed to be cruising to a third straight unopposed re-election, on the back of the wildly financially successful Men’s World Cup. But he is now fighting for his job…

Just one month ago, Fifa president Gianni Infantino seemed to be cruising to a third straight unopposed re-election, on the back of the wildly financially successful Men’s World Cup. But he is now fighting for his job…

These advancements helped him continue as the president of Fifa unopposed when elections rolled round in 2019 and 2023. But it feels like the second election broke something in him. Condescending words on the eve of the 2023 Women’s World Cup final turned into a farcical desire to be cordial with US President Donald Trump, whom he very infamously awarded the made-up Fifa Peace Prize in 2025.

If you’ve read this space over the past couple of months, you’d know of the controversies surrounding the recently concluded World Cup: commercialisation, the advent of in-game........

© Dawn (Magazines)