Former FIFA Council member Isha Johansen calls on Infantino to step down

Isha Johansen, a former FIFA Council member and former Sierra Leone Football Association president, has publicly called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to resign, according to ESPN reporting on August 12. Johansen, elected to the FIFA Council in March 2021, told ESPN: "Clearly it seems that he has crossed the line and there has been a breach of trust here." Her statement marks the first prominent African football leader to break with the continental bloc that has shielded Infantino from accountability.

Johansen's dissent fractures the unified position that African football has maintained around Infantino, even as UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation have formally accused him of deception over the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. The Confederation of African Football's executive committee has unanimously backed Infantino and his re-election in 2027, and CAF president Patrice Motsepe has publicly defended him on the basis of loyalty. Johansen said that Motsepe's swift declaration came too soon and risked reinforcing what she called an uncomfortable perception: that African football prioritizes money from FIFA over ethical governance.

"I hate the perception, and I said this over and over again, even today, that there is that silent perception that, of course, Africa's going to say we're going to stand by him. We want the money because that's all we want, the money. Nobody wants to talk about the ethical aspect of how we're getting that money," Johansen stated, per ESPN.

The crisis centers on the FIFA Forward Enterprise, a proposal that would have created a commercial subsidiary valued at approximately $20 billion and sold a minority stake to outside investors. According to ESPN's reporting, the plan would have consolidated major FIFA revenue-generating operations, including broadcasting, sponsorship, and ticketing, into the new entity with up to 20 percent available to investors. FIFA told its 211 member associations they could receive as much as $40 million each during the 2027-30 cycle if the plan advanced. Infantino subsequently withdrew the proposal and apologized, after UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation mounted fierce opposition to both its substance and the process by which it was presented.

Johansen also detailed a personal history with Infantino. She withdrew from the Sierra Leone Football Association presidential election three months after her FIFA Council election in March 2021. Johansen says Infantino personally advised her to step down after visiting Sierra Leone with Motsepe, saying it was "a no win situation, and for the good of football." The episode, in her account, illustrated a pattern of FIFA leadership intervention in continental affairs.

Musa Bility, a former Liberia Football Association president and former CAF executive committee member, has also called on CAF to reconsider its endorsement of Infantino and warned that "Africa must not become the firewall protecting one man from accountability," per ESPN. Johansen echoed that concern, framing her critique as institutional rather than personal. "I have nothing personal against Gianni. In fact, for me, it's not about disliking Gianni. It's not about the person. It's about the act, the deed, the ethics behind the proposal," she said.

Infantino became FIFA president in 2016. Johansen stated that his political position has shifted markedly: he has gone from being "a shoo-in to win re-election, to now potentially being forced out, or facing a challenge at the elections." UEFA is leading calls for his resignation. The path to the 2027 FIFA presidential election and the formal requirements for a challenger to contest it remain undescribed in available reporting.