Morocco to host key 2027 re-election vote for FIFA President Gianni Infantino

The FIFA presidential vote in 2027 that is set to give Gianni Infantino a final four-year term in office will be hosted by Morocco — the international football body’s second straight election meeting in Africa where he has built strong political ties.

Infantino on Thursday announced the 2030 World Cup co-host will stage a 18 March 2027 election meeting of FIFA’s 211 member federations who currently figure to re-elect him unopposed for a third time since his first win in a five-candidate contest in 2016.

“I am honored and humbled at the same time," Infantino told global football leaders before confirming his inevitable candidacy for the election.

FIFA's financial security, with multi-billion dollar reserves boosted by a high-revenue 2026 World Cup in North America, allows paying at least $8 million during this presidential term to each voting member federation.

Infantino was paid more than $6 million by FIFA last year in a job that has given him a global profile as a regular visitor with United States President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, which will host the 2034 World Cup.

The FIFA Congress returns to Africa for the second time next year after its 2023 edition in the Rwandan capital Kigali, where Infantino has last been re-elected.

African voters — now 54 among the 211 members — have for decades been seen as decisive in FIFA presidential elections.

CAF and its president Patrice Motsepe already pledged support to Infantino in Vancouver this week, even before the election period was formally opened Thursday at the FIFA Congress.

The Royal Moroccan football federation also extended its support to the incumbent president.

Morocco's rise

Now a major African football power, Morocco has been a big winner during Infantino’s presidency and will host the 2027 FIFA Congress in Rabat, where the football body opened its African regional office last year.

The north African nation will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal and hopes to stage the final at a 115,000-capacity stadium being built in Casablanca. Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium also is a contender.

Hosting a FIFA gathering of officials, business partners and media next year shapes as a showcase for Moroccan football and its influential leader Fouzi Lekjaa.

During Lekjaa’s 12-year presidency of the Moroccan football federation, the men’s team made World Cup history in 2022 by becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals.

That fueled Morocco’s campaign to join the Spain-Portugal project for hosting the World Cup that was long expected to go to Europe.

Morocco also has a five-year deal with FIFA to host the annual Under-17 Women's World Cup.

Morocco hosted the men's African Cup of Nations this year that ended in a chaotic and controversial final. Senegal won the title on the field, Morocco was awarded it by a CAF appeal panel and the result will be settled by Senegal's appeal pending at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Infantino’s presidency is expected to stretch to 15 years when he will reach his statutory term limit in 2031.