Former FIFA governance committee chairman Miguel Maduro has questioned Gianni Infantino’s eligibility to seek another term as president, arguing that the organisation’s statutes limit the position to three terms.
Maduro insists that Infantino has already exhausted the permitted number of terms and cannot legally contest the March 2027 presidential election.
The Portuguese lawyer made the remarks on Tuesday, November 3, as the deadline for submitting presidential candidacies approaches.
He cited Article 33, paragraph two of FIFA’s statutes, which states that no individual may serve as president for more than three terms.
“Gianni Infantino has been elected three times, he’s been president of FIFA for three terms. So in my view, there’s no way to reconcile another presidency of Infantino,” Maduro told reporters.
His comments have renewed questions about the interpretation of FIFA’s presidential term limits as Infantino prepares to seek another mandate.
Why Infantino’s Previous Term Is Under Scrutiny
Infantino first became FIFA president in 2016 following the resignation of Sepp Blatter. He won the election at an extraordinary FIFA Congress and subsequently secured re-election in 2019 and 2023.
However, Infantino and FIFA have maintained that his initial period in office should not count towards the three-term limit.
The argument rests on the fact that he completed the remainder of Blatter’s interrupted mandate rather than serving a full four-year term.
In December 2022, the FIFA Council unanimously confirmed that Infantino’s 2016–2019 period would not count as one of his presidential terms.
However, human rights organisation FairSquare has challenged that interpretation. The organisation argues that FIFA’s statutes do not exempt shortened presidential mandates from the term limit.
Maduro shares that position, insisting that the wording of the regulation makes no distinction between complete and incomplete terms.
He argued that the provision simply limits the presidency to three terms, regardless of their duration.
FairSquare Calls on FIFA Member Associations to Intervene
FairSquare has also stepped up its campaign against Infantino’s possible fourth term.
The human rights organisation has written to FIFA member associations, urging them to declare the president ineligible before the candidacy deadline.
FairSquare previously argued that FIFA’s interpretation of the term-limit provision lacked sufficient transparency.
The organisation maintains that Infantino’s initial three-year period should count towards the maximum three terms allowed under the statutes.
Its campaign has reached 52 FIFA member associations, although none had responded to its latest appeal at the time of the report.
FairSquare director and co-founder Nicholas McGeehan said the organisation would meet Norwegian football officials on Wednesday.
Norway’s football association has previously supported FairSquare’s formal complaint against Infantino over an alleged breach of FIFA’s political neutrality rules.
McGeehan urged other national associations to take a position rather than leaving the matter to Norway.
Maduro Raises Concerns Over FIFA Governance
Maduro also questioned FIFA’s ability to hold its president accountable, arguing that the organisation’s governance structures have weakened.
He blamed what he described as a decline in the independence of bodies responsible for monitoring the president and FIFA’s political leadership.
The former governance chief also claimed that member associations were reluctant to challenge the organisation’s leadership because of what he called a “climate of fear”.
Maduro was removed from his FIFA position in 2017 after blocking Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko from securing re-election to FIFA’s top committee.
Despite the fresh challenge, Infantino’s re-election prospects remain strong.
His position received a significant boost last month when the head of Asian football endorsed his bid.
Support from football confederations has also strengthened his standing among FIFA’s 211 voting member associations.
The dispute over Infantino’s fourth-term eligibility is therefore likely to remain a major issue ahead of the March 2027 presidential election.