On Tuesday, UEFA outlined new lines of battle by voicing strong opposition to Balogun’s decision.
European football’s governing body said FIFA had “crossed a red line” and called it an “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision”.
But this was not the first time UEFA crossed swords with FIFA.
In May 2025, UEFA President Aleksandar Čeferin led a group of European delegates who went on strike during a break in the FIFA Congress.
Infantino was on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East with Trump and arrived two hours and 17 minutes late.
UEFA was also keen to score political points during the World Cup.
No sooner had Artan landed at home in Somalia last month than UEFA announced that he had been invited to referee the UEFA Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa on August 12.
And throughout this year, UEFA have been keen to highlight just how cheap Euro 2028 tickets are compared to World Cup tickets. It will not introduce fluid breaks or red cards for players who cover their mouths.
Infantino, remember, came from UEFA. For many years he was the man who presented the Champions League draw.
He may not be quite persona non grata there these days (he gave a speech at the UEFA Congress in February), but there are clear divisions.
Given all this, surely Infantino’s position must be questioned?
Against. Infantino is popular among many federations around the world, and this is largely due to the development of the FIFA game.
Infantino’s Fifa Forward program has funded football projects around the world and he has created opportunities through the expanded World Cup.
Sixteen more countries are now allowed to participate in the competition – the vast majority from confederations with less depth. Europe received only three additional seats.
This World Cup has shown that Asia and Concacaf, below the top level, have a lot of work to do to be competitive.
But Infantino gave a dream, a hope that countries that had never been able to participate in the World Cup before would be able to get there. For example, Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.
Despite all the criticism of the 48-team format, it gave Cape Verde a chance to realize their dream.
And this will allow less traditional footballing countries to develop their game and become stronger – and surely this is positive for football around the world?
Trick?
These projects are paid for by tournaments such as the World Cup and huge ticket prices.
FIFA is expected to bring in $9bn (£7.9bn) this year.
UEFA may oppose much of what FIFA and Infantino stand for, but European football is the richest man in the game. By and large, he can finance himself.
The rest of the game depends on Infantino and the money that FIFA generates.
FIFA includes 211 countries. Each of them has the right to vote for the presidency, and to win the election they need to get 106 votes.
Let’s look at the math.
In April, Conmebol, a South American confederation, said its 10 countries would support Infantino.
Three weeks later, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed unanimous support from its 54 member associations.
Soon after, the 47 countries of the Asian Football Confederation followed suit.
Infantino already has 111 votes. He cannot be defeated.
Even if UEFA thought it could find a candidate capable of challenging, the race had already begun.
Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023. For anyone to be able to stand up to him, let alone win in 2027, it would take something truly remarkable.