South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe says only an election can remove FIFA's Infantino

Patrice Motsepe has told the confederations trying to force Gianni Infantino out of FIFA that they should wait for the ballot box.

The South African mining billionaire, who presides over the Confederation of African Football and sits as a FIFA vice president, said the governing body's 211 member associations should settle the question at the presidential election due in March rather than through pressure for a resignation.

"If you want to take him out, go for elections," Motsepe told Sky News on Thursday. He said the vote would establish whether the members retained confidence in Infantino, and questioned why the process should not be allowed to run.

Infantino is fighting to keep his job after abandoning a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The proposal drew condemnation across the game and triggered the most serious challenge to his authority since he took office in 2016.

Three confederations moved against him this week. UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation sent a joint letter accusing him of placing himself above the body that gave him authority, and they are understood to want him gone before he can seek re-election. UEFA has threatened to boycott both the World Cup and the Club World Cup over the scheme.

Motsepe travelled to Salzburg on Wednesday for the UEFA Super Cup and held talks with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. He said afterwards that he had heard many accounts of the affair and was cautious about passing judgement, and called for a proper hearing where everyone could be heard.

CAF had already declared its support for Infantino. Motsepe argued that no rules were broken in the World Cup discussions because any proposal would have gone to FIFA members for final approval. He acknowledged there was much that needed fixing, and noted that Infantino had apologised and accepted the matter could have been handled differently.

The desertions have continued regardless. The Football Association of Ireland rescinded its letter of support on Thursday after a board meeting, citing concerns over governance, transparency and the absence of meaningful consultation. The English and Welsh associations had already withdrawn their backing. Six Arab federations, among them Qatar, Morocco and Egypt, came out in support of Infantino on Thursday morning.

Motsepe's own position gives his intervention particular weight, and complicates it.

He became CAF president in March 2021 after a deal brokered by Infantino himself, emerging as a surprise candidate once the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a corruption ban on the incumbent, Ahmad Ahmad. The FIFA president's backing was decisive, and Motsepe was elected unopposed at the CAF Congress in Rabat. Members re-elected him in March 2025.

He is also the man most often named as Infantino's eventual successor. Gayton McKenzie, South Africa's minister of sport, arts and culture, publicly backed him for the FIFA presidency last month, telling CityAM he doubted anyone would object to Motsepe's name being in contention.

The wealth behind the football career came from mining. Motsepe, 64, was born in Orlando West, Soweto, and became the first Black partner at the Johannesburg law firm Bowman Gilfillan in 1994. He started a mining services contracting business the same year, then bought low-producing gold mine shafts from AngloGold in 1997 and turned them profitable, founding African Rainbow Minerals.

He holds 45.9 percent of ARM and an indirect interest in Harmony Gold, South Africa's largest gold producer. He launched the private equity firm African Rainbow Capital in 2016 and holds a stake in the financial services group Sanlam. Forbes ranks him eighth among Africa's wealthiest people with a net worth of $4.3 billion, and 984th globally. He became the first Black African on the Forbes billionaires list in 2008.

His football holdings sit alongside the mining assets. Motsepe owns Mamelodi Sundowns, the most successful club in South African football, and put substantial money into the domestic professional game before taking the continental role.

He is married to Precious Moloi-Motsepe, and his family connections run into the highest levels of South African politics. His sister Tshepo Motsepe is married to President Cyril Ramaphosa, and another sister, Bridgette Radebe, is married to the former minister Jeff Radebe.

The FIFA election is scheduled for March.