UEFA Vice-President Laura McAllister has said the next FIFA president must be a unifying figure who serves as a true custodian of the game, stressing that world football needs leadership focused on the sport’s long-term interests rather than politics or personal influence.
Her remarks come as FIFA continues to face scrutiny following the collapse of its proposed World Cup investment initiative, a plan that attracted widespread criticism from several national football associations.
During a meeting of FIFA’s leadership in Rabat, Morocco, officials reaffirmed their confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, apologised to the organisation’s 211 member associations over the handling of the abandoned investment proposal, and pledged to review the decision-making process that led to the controversy.
Despite those assurances, questions over FIFA’s governance are expected to remain a major talking point ahead of the organisation’s 2027 presidential election.
Speaking in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW), McAllister acknowledged that replacing Infantino would not be straightforward, noting that any serious contender would require broad backing from football associations across all continents.
“It’s not as easy as people might think.
“The right candidate has to also have the right level of support,” she said.
“There’s so much politics around this.
“There’s such an imperative to get a candidate who could unite the whole world of football, not just Europe in this case.
“The former Wales women’s captain also called for far-reaching reforms aimed at strengthening transparency and democratic governance within football’s global administration.
“It requires a really fundamental change in the culture of how the leadership of football operates, I believe, and that we really drive forward the modernisation of the game to make sure that football isn’t run by fiefdoms or by individuals, that it’s democratically run,” she stated.
McAllister’s comments follow growing criticism of Infantino after FIFA shelved plans to establish a commercial subsidiary and sell a stake in future FIFA World Cup revenues to outside investors, a proposal that met strong resistance from within the football community.
She maintained that any future leadership transition should restore football’s traditional values, ensuring the game is managed in the interests of players, supporters and the wider football family rather than political or commercial considerations.
“The game is there for everybody, from grassroots to elite,” McAllister said.
“It doesn’t belong to any one of those constituents.
“It’s as much for girls as it is for boys. “It should reach every corner of the world, in the poorest countries as well as the globally successful ones.”
