Infantino must go by 2027 in FIFA overhaul, Dutch football body says

KNVB invites associations and confederations to a summit to discuss the overhaul of FIFA and how it runs football.FIFA president Gianni Infantino must be replaced by 2027, along with an overhaul of football’s global governing body, the Dutch football association (KNVB) has said.The KNVB, one of FIFA’s ⁠⁠founding members in 1904, issued a scathing statement on Sunday, saying it had lost confidence in Infantino and wanted to reshape the body rather than just change leadership at the top.The Dutch body wants to host ⁠⁠an international summit in Amsterdam and has invited football associations and confederations from around the world to participate.Infantino is expected to run for re-election to the FIFA presidency in March, but world regional football bodies have considered a vote of ‌‌no confidence after his aborted proposal to sell a stake in FIFA events like the World Cup to private equity investors.“The KNVB no longer has confidence in the leadership of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. We believe FIFA needs new leadership from 2027 onwards,” it said in the statement.“But a new president alone is not enough. The way FIFA is governed must change as well.“The KNVB supported Infantino in the most recent presidential election. That support was never ⁠⁠unconditional.”The KNVB proposed an “International Summit on the Future of FIFA”, ⁠⁠emphasising it should determine “what kind of FIFA we want” before identifying new leadership.“We see too much power concentrated around the FIFA president and insufficient separation between the President and the FIFA administration,” they added.FIFA did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for a comment on KNVB’s statement and proposed plans for a summit.Calls to revamp FIFA’s power structureAmong KNVB’s key demands was a revamp of the decision-making process in the organisation. It called for FIFA’s congress to take the call on key decisions under the governance and supervision of its council.