Journalist, lecturer and author asking for an annual salary of $1 if he wins

Former Soccer News editor Peter Auf der Heyde has officially declared a Fifa presidential bid against embattled incumbent Gianni Infantino.

South African Auf der Heyde, who lectures in journalism at Southampton Solent University and was also sports editor of the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) in Germany, was a graduate of Rhodes University in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) where as a student he helped establish and was president of the Grahamstown Soccer Association.

The 65-year-old is best remembered in South Africa for editing Soccer News, a hugely popular magazine that did well in the 1990s and 2000s in opposition to another major title, Kickoff.

Infantino has faced major backlash — with Uefa (Europe) and Concacaf (North and Central America and the Caribbean) the most vocal critics among confederations — for an aborted plan that included selling minority stakes in the Fifa World Cup to private investors.

Asia’s AFC initially was critical but has performed an about-turn to join Africa (Caf) and South America (Conmebol) in various degrees of support for Infantino, who also drew major controversy for some decision-making regarding the 2026 Fifa World Cup in North America in June and July. This included awarding US president Donald Trump an inaugural Fifa Peace Prize.

Auf der Heyde joins Kozo Tashima, honorary president of the Japan Football Association, and former Tottenham Hotspur and Switzerland defender Ramon Vega, as stated challengers as Infantino seeks a fourth term in the Fifa elections in Morocco in March next year. Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger is reportedly considering a challenge.

Auf der Heyde reportedly is seeking a salary of salary of $1 (R16.50) per year if he wins.

Aware he is the joker in the pack to established administrators and global football personalities, he told TimesLIVE via WhatsApp he launched his bid to express his feeling that “something needed to be done” about the state of Fifa and global football and shine a light to Infantino’s alleged failings.

“The idea started formulating around the World Cup, when I thought about all the countries that will never have a chance of competing on the global stage. That then developed into an idea of an Emerging Nations World Cup. I then looked at ways to getting the idea to the right people,” Auf der Heyde said.

“Furthermore, I have worked in football as a player, administrator, club owner, club manager and journalist for all my life and saw that things were really not going in a good direction. Like many people, I was hoping after [Infantino’s predecessor Sepp] Blatter left things would become better.

“But under Infantino, sadly, they have not become better. Some would argue they’ve become worse. I felt instead of just complaining and criticising, something needed to be done.

“You can’t have an election if you don’t have two candidates. Then it’s not an election.

“So, unless there is a candidate opposing Infantino, there’s no need for him to be accountable. There’s no need for transparency. And that’s why I decided to go that route.

“I feel the issues with Infantino — things like the Fifa Peace Prize, his $6m salary, him wanting to sell off the World Cup — all these he should be held accountable for. If there’s a challenger, he will need to explain them, I feel.

“I think that is the most important thing.”

To officially challenge Infantino, Auf der Heyde would need five federations to nominate him.

“I’m not even asking countries to vote for me, I’m asking countries to nominate me.

“I think there’s a very big difference. To nominate a person means you accept the rationale that an election should be democratic, that a president should be accountable and that his or her actions should be transparent.

“So by nominating me, or another candidate, that means these things will happen.

“Without that, Infantino will be elected unopposed, though I think the word ‘elected’ in this case then is ridiculous because it is not an election if there are no people standing against him.

“The steps I’m undertaking are practically just to get the five nominations. I have written to all 211 associations and will follow that up in a few days. I have received some feedback.

Many have criticised Infantino. Let’s see if they’re willing to put up a candidate against him.

—  Peter Auf der Heyde

“For instance, the Jamaican Football Association wrote to me and said they’re treating it very seriously and would like to have some more information, which I sent.

“I’m basically just hoping countries are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Many have criticised Infantino. Let’s see if they’re willing to put up a candidate against him.

“And as I said, even if that candidate does not stand many chances of winning, I think it’s important a candidate is standing against Infantino to ask him difficult questions.”

Known for his progressive ideals, Auf der Heyde said that outlook also motivated his decision.

“Yes, I would think that my outlooks and my ideas, for instance, writing this [recent] book, Death in Pretoria, Untold Stories of Political Activists Executed During Apartheid, has shown me there is a another side to sport, if you want to call it the sociology of football.

“And that is lacking and that includes things like good governance, [which] is not happening at the moment.

“Infantino is running Fifa a little bit like some tin pot dictatorship, which is shown by him cosying up to presidents and things like that.

“I would consider it a victory if my attempt to become Fifa president gets people talking, questioning Infantino’s salary, his decisions and the way in which football is being governed.”

Auf der Heyde is the author of books including Has Anybody Got a Whistle?: A Football Reporter in Africa (2002) and this year’s Death in Pretoria: Untold Stories of Political Activists Executed During Apartheid, which made the fiction/non-fiction longlist for the Sunday Times Literary Awards.

He has contributed as a journalist to TimesLIVE and Sunday Times.