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Individual federation withdrawals make headlines, but they don’t decide elections. Wales and England each carry exactly one of FIFA’s 211 votes, the same as every other member association. The real power sits with the six continental confederations, which vote as blocs and have never elected a president without at least three of them locking together behind one candidate. Reading who actually controls the March 2027 outcome means reading Africa, Asia and the Americas, not just Europe’s loudest voices, and the numbers tell a different story than this week’s statements suggest.
The Football Association of Wales became the first national association to officially withdraw a letter of support for Infantino’s re-election, confirming the move on August 3. The Football Association followed within hours, adding its own written withdrawal the same day.
Both moves matter symbolically. Both federations also sit inside UEFA, meaning their individual votes, one each out of 211 total, are numerically tiny next to the confederation blocs that actually decide the March 2027 election.
Also read:- How Is Gianni Infantino Using FIFA’s Own Staff to Lobby for His Re-Election?
Every one of FIFA’s 211 member associations holds a single vote regardless of size, and a simple majority of 106 is required to win the presidency in the first round. If nobody reaches that number, subsequent rounds eliminate whichever candidate finished last.
No FIFA president has ever won office without locking in support from at least three of the six confederations. There’s also a wrinkle worth knowing: only 35 of CONCACAF’s 41 members currently hold full FIFA voting privileges, which caps that bloc’s real ceiling below its membership number.
| Confederation | FIFA Voting Members | Official Stance on Infantino (Post-FFE Collapse) |
| UEFA (Europe) | 55 | Strong Opposition: Demanding full investigation; Wales officially withdrew support on Aug 3; more FAs expected to follow. |
| CAF (Africa) | 54 | Backing Infantino: Standing firm on their prior agreement to support his 2027 re-election. |
| AFC (Asia) | 47 | Critical/Ambiguous: Severely critical of how the FFE project was handled; called for an immediate independent review. |
| CONCACAF (North/Central America) | 35 | Against FFE: Strongly opposed the centralizing of commercial rights; President Montagliani is exploring a 2027 presidential bid. |
| OFC (Oceania) | 11 | Neutral/Silent: Maintaining a diplomatic stance; awaiting their Executive Committee review. |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | 10 | Backing Infantino: Retaining their historical bloc support for Infantino despite European pushback. |
| Total FIFA Votes | 211 | Simple majority needed to win: 106 votes. |
Add UEFA’s 55 votes to CONCACAF’s 35 eligible voters and the total reaches 90, still 16 short of the 106 needed. Pulling even part of the AFC’s 47 votes into that camp would cross the line.
But the reverse math works too. CAF’s 54 votes plus CONMEBOL’s 10 already total 64 behind Infantino, and if the AFC’s 47 either stays neutral or tilts back his way, that combination reaches 111, enough to win even if UEFA and CONCACAF vote against him entirely. Asia, not Europe, is the bloc that actually decides this.
CAF’s 54 members unanimously agreed to back Infantino’s re-election before the FFE plan triggered the current backlash, and that support has stayed consistent. Patrice Motsepe endorsed him publicly in July, and both Qatar and Morocco have issued their own statements of support since.
The AFC’s 47 votes remain the genuine swing factor. If that bloc fractures toward UEFA’s position, Infantino’s coalition collapses below a majority. If it holds together instead, he can reach 111 votes without needing a single vote from CONCACAF or UEFA.
European federations are unlikely to sway that calculus either. UEFA’s opposition campaign has focused almost entirely on legal pressure over FFE, not on courting African or Asian votes directly, which limits how far its 55-vote bloc alone can reshape the outcome.
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is reportedly weighing a presidential run of his own, while Nasser Al-Khelaici emerged as a separate potential candidate in mid-July reporting. A Montagliani campaign drawing UEFA’s 55 votes, CONCACAF’s 35 eligible votes and a chunk of AFC dissidents would clear 106 comfortably.
Nothing here is settled yet. The November 18 nomination deadline is the moment this FIFA presidency 2027 election voting power question stops being theoretical and starts being counted, and every confederation’s positioning right now remains exploratory and fully reversible.
Which confederation do you think ultimately decides who leads FIFA past March 2027? Drop your prediction in the comments.
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How many votes does each FIFA confederation control?
UEFA holds 55 votes, the single largest confederation bloc in FIFA elections. CAF carries 54, the AFC 47, CONCACAF 41 with 35 eligible, OFC 11 and CONMEBOL 10, totaling 211 overall.
Which confederations still support Gianni Infantino?
CAF and CONMEBOL remain publicly behind Infantino’s re-election bid. CAF’s 54 members agreed to back him before the FFE controversy, while Qatar and Morocco have also issued supportive statements.
Can FIFA members remove a sitting president before an election?
Not through a simple vote of no confidence outside a formal Ethics Committee process. The practical route remains the scheduled election, where a challenger needs 106 votes to end his term in March 2027.
What is FIFA’s presidential election process?
All 211 member associations vote, with a simple majority of 106 needed in the first round. If no candidate clears that mark, later rounds eliminate the lowest-placed candidate until one does.
When will FIFA hold its next presidential election?
The vote is scheduled for March 18, 2027, at the 77th FIFA Congress. That Congress takes place in Rabat, Morocco, with candidate nominations due by November 18, 2026.
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