An official rejection, not a mood swing
The Belgian Football Association issued a blunt statement on Monday. The RBFA will not back Gianni Infantino in the FIFA presidential election, due in March 2027.
The Belgian body says its decision is driven by what it sees as ongoing secrecy and governance failings at the top of the world governing body. Among the complaints is the now-abandoned plan to open World Cup revenues to private investors.
Belgium are not alone. Sweden, Scotland and Italy have already pulled their support for the incumbent president. This is no longer a lone protest: a European bloc is forming, with the vote still 18 months away.
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The Balogun case still rankles
The real breaking point has a name. Folarin Balogun.
At the last World Cup in the United States, the striker’s suspension was lifted just before the last-16 tie against Belgium, after direct intervention from Donald Trump to Gianni Infantino. Two months later, Brussels still has no explanation.
Pascale Van Damme, president of the RBFA, has now changed tack. She wants the issue formally added to the agenda for FIFA’s next Council meeting on 15 October. Not a complaint in the media any more, a procedural demand.
One vote in 211, and the arithmetic behind it
On paper, one association equals one vote among 211. Infantino still has strong backing outside Europe, as his previous re-elections have shown.
The drip-feed of European defections carries more weight than the raw count, though. Denmark and France had already said they would not vote for him. Michel Platini has publicly called for him to go. Each new stance makes UEFA’s silence harder to sustain.
The question now is what FIFA does on 15 October. Getting it onto the agenda would force the Council to deal with the Balogun case properly. A refusal would send a message just as clear.
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