Gianni Infantino should resign as head of FIFA for “destroying the football industry” by expanding international competitions, La Liga president Javier Tebas said Monday.
It is not the first time he has lashed out at Infantino over fixture congestion and for considering a proposal to expand the 2030 men's World Cup from 48 teams to 64.
“Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense. The football industry isn’t just the World Cup, which is the most
important event. But not everything can revolve around the World Cup,” Tebas told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up,” he said of Infantino. “However, he has the support of the system and the federations, so there’s not much more to add, is there? There’s no opposition candidate, nobody wants to stand just to lose. This is the system and it’s rotten at its core.
“He shouldn’t stay, but he won’t leave. I’ve heard many people who are against Infantino. They say it, but then they do nothing. I don’t know what’s worse, the silence or the complicity, because those who stay silent are perfectly aware of the damage football is suffering.”
South American soccer’s ruling body CONMEBOL has made an official proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams. The competition is already set to be the most sprawling edition with six host nations spread across three continents.
“It’s national competition that sustains this sport," Tebas added. "They are destroying the football industry, which generates tens of thousands of jobs, for an event that lasts 40 days and involves a minority of players.”
He also criticized world football’s governing body FIFA over the new hydration breaks implemented at the World Cup which ended Sunday, as well as the extended 27-minute halftime interval — rather than the standard 15 — during the final that saw Spain defeat Argentina 1-0.
The hydration breaks midway through each half were introduced to help players deal with the summer heat in the United States, Canada and Mexico. But critics say they had unintended consequences, ruining the flow of the game and giving coaches a chance to tactically shift momentum in their team’s favor.
“FIFA arranges things as it pleases, for what it wants, for its own interests — certainly not for football,” Tebas said. “Hydration breaks are a lie. We have them in La Liga, but only when it’s genuinely hot. Here, the pitches in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Atlanta had air conditioning. It was a lie — and just a break for advertising.”
Infantino announced in April that he would run for re-election for a fourth term as president. The vote for the 2027–2031 period is scheduled for March 18 in Morocco.
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