Three ways Gianni Infantino can be removed as FIFA president after World Cup sell-off controversy

Gianni Infantino is under increasing pressure to retain his spot as FIFA president, and there are three ways he can be removed.

Earlier this week, the footballing world was sent into panic after Infantino shared plans to “invite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments” in a new subsidiary called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

US-based Thrive Capital - owned by Donald Trump's son-in-law Joshua Kushner - was tipped to lead the proposed investor group as FIFA looked to raise $20 billion in investment.

All of FIFA's 211 member associations were given a September 19 deadline to back the proposal and receive up to £30.1 million, but the federations rallied together against Infantino's idea.

UEFA released a furious statement in response to the plans on Thursday (July 30) and pledged to boycott the World Cup if Infantino's plan came to fruition, with Concacaf and AFC adopting the same stance as UEFA.

Infantino's senior advisor, Carlos Codeiro, resigned from his role after releasing an explosive statement, describing it as a "bad deal for the game".

FIFA COO Kevin Lamour also threatened to quit his job after feeling "deceived" by the 56-year-old, who was forced to scrap his plans to sell off the World Cup in the early hours of Saturday morning (August 1) following global backlash.

UEFA were among the first governing bodies to respond to Infantino's U-turn, declaring a loss of confidence in the president and slamming his scheme as a "shabby, back-room deal".

The FA even called for a full "review of FIFA's leadership" in a statement on X, as calls for Infantino to be removed from his role as president continue to grow louder.

How Gianni Infantino can be removed as FIFA president

On Saturday, former FA chairman David Bernstein was worried that Infantino would remain in the role if he retains the support of national associations.

READ NEXT: FA demand 'review of FIFA's leadership' as pressure grows for Gianni Infantino to resign after World Cup sell-off U-turn

"In a normal organisation, if he has to back down due to something of this magnitude, he'd probably be shown the door," Bernstein said.

"But FIFA is not a normal organisation. If he has the support of enough of the national associations, he will continue."

Luckily, after being publicly questioned for his actions for the FFE proposal, Sky News sports correspondent Rob Harris states that moves to force him out are "accelerating" and there are three possible ways he loses his job.

A vote of no confidence is the first. According to FIFA statutes, 20% of FIFA members (43 countries) can convene an emergency FIFA congress, which would be held within three months. They can then request that a vote to dismiss the president be put on the agenda.

Executive dismissal is another possibility. FIFA's ethics committee can investigate if a president has breached the ethics code based on formal complaints from members or officials.

They can issue sanctions, such as long-term bans from football activities, but since there are no obvious ethics breaches at play, this is unlikely.

Finally, Infantino can be sacked via electoral defeat. He is up for re-election next March, and he can be removed if the congress votes for a different candidate.

Stay tuned for updates on this saga, as it feels only a matter of time before his decade-long stint as president comes to an end.