A coalition of soccer fans lit up a Times Square billboard on September 4, 2026, calling for the removal of FIFA President Gianni Infantino in one of the most public displays of opposition the organization’s leader has faced.
The digital display at the corner of Broadway and West 43rd Street went live at 6 a.m., flashing messages including “FIFA DESERVES A LEADER NOT A DEALER” and “SOCCER CONFEDERATIONS: REMOVE INFANTINO.” The billboard campaign marks a dramatic escalation in the controversy surrounding Infantino’s leadership of world soccer’s governing body.
The protest stems from Infantino’s now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which would have brought outside investors into a commercial subsidiary and could have raised as much as $4.2 billion at an implied $20 billion valuation. The plan drew fierce opposition from UEFA and its 55 member associations, which accused FIFA of developing the proposal without meaningful consultation and threatened to pull national teams from FIFA competitions, according to the New York Post.
UEFA is now seeking evidence from Josh Kushner through U.S. federal courts for a potential criminal complaint in Switzerland over alleged criminal mismanagement tied to the proposal. FIFA has denied wrongdoing and characterized the legal push as a “smear campaign.” No court has found that Infantino criminally mismanaged FIFA or personally profited from the abandoned plan.
The fan group behind the billboard accused Infantino of attempting to “sell international football” and called on soccer’s governing bodies to remove him. They also criticized his relationship with President Donald Trump, including FIFA’s decision to give Trump its inaugural Peace Prize in December 2025.
“Gianni Infantino is not a leader, he is a dealer who tried to sell the World Cup and more disturbingly, the children’s World Cup,” the group alleged in a statement.
Former FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein accused FIFA’s leadership of “blackmail” after Jordan’s national federation was not paid prize money for reaching the FIFA Arab Cup final in December. Prince Ali said he was told during the World Cup that endorsing Infantino “would go a long way to helping our FA out.”
The controversy comes as Infantino prepares to seek another term as FIFA president in 2027. FIFA maintains that the 39 months he served after first winning the presidency in 2016 do not count toward the organization’s three-term limit — an interpretation critics have challenged as potentially allowing him to remain in power for roughly 15 years.
The dispute has not been resolved by an independent judicial body. The Confederation of African Football endorsed Infantino’s 2027 candidacy in August, indicating he retains significant political support despite the growing backlash.
For New York, the Times Square billboard underscores the city’s role as a global stage for corporate governance disputes. FIFA’s commercial operations, including sponsorship deals and broadcast agreements, have significant connections to U.S.-based companies and media networks.
