On 19 July, Gianni Infantino stood beside Donald Trump at the World Cup final and lifted the trophy alongside Spain's victorious players. It was the peak of his presidency — a made-for-television moment of global power. Fewer than fourteen days later, the walls are closing in. The immediate trigger is Infantino's abandoned plan to sell ownership stakes in Fifa competitions to private investors.

The backlash has been ferocious. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned it. Supporters' groups across the world piled on. But the blow that truly stings is institutional: Uefa, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation have each threatened to boycott Fifa competitions — a rare alignment of three major governing bodies from Europe, the Americas, and Asia against a sitting president.

The AFC did not mince its words, warning that the episode has "exposed fundamental weaknesses in Fifa's consultation and decision-making processes." That is the language of a vote of no confidence, even if it stops short of naming one. The internal damage is just as striking. Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's own special advisor, has resigned.

Fifa's chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, told the Associated Press that the organisation's own administration was deceived about the private-investment project — a remarkable admission that cuts to the heart of how Fifa is being run. Yet history suggests that Infantino should not be written off. Former Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce believes the president still commands enough support among national associations to survive re-election. Former Football Association chairman David Bernstein puts it plainly: Fifa, he says, is not a normal organisation.