UEFA has officially retracted its backing for FIFA’s current administration, stating that it can no longer place confidence in president Gianni Infantino after a covert scheme to permit private funding in the World Cup.
In a forceful statement on Saturday, the governing body of European football criticized FIFA for behaving in a “shabby, backroom, opaque” way and stated that trust had been eroded not only by UEFA but also by other members of the football community.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino couldn’t soothe the turbulent situation regarding his role despite abolishing a proposal on Saturday to permit private investment in the World Cup.
UEFA, the governing body of European football, was at the forefront opposing the plan, threatening to boycott all FIFA events. While it welcomed the proposal’s retraction, it asserted that Infantino had eroded their trust and that of other football stakeholders due to his “shabby, backroom, opaque deal.”
Hours after Infantino’s statement was released, announcing an embarrassing retreat following intense criticism since the plan’s initial revelation on Tuesday, their response arrived.
“Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve,” Infantino said in a statement.
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
FIFA, the governing body of global football, introduced the proposal on Tuesday, indicating it could generate as much as $4.2 billion, contingent on a valuation of $20 billion for a new FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial arm aimed at managing events like the World Cup and Club World Cup.
It stated that, if authorized, the initiative could offer each of FIFA’s 211 member associations a one-time payment of $20 million in early 2027 and raise their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 period from $8 million to $20 million.
UEFA did not hold back in demanding accountability from Infantino for the fiasco just days after he reveled in the success of a remarkably successful World Cup—the first featuring 48 teams and hosted across three nations.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” read the statement.
UEFA stated that the 56-year-old Swiss had broken promises he made when he successfully first sought election in 2016—namely, to be “transparent” and that FIFA’s money was “your (the member associations’) money” and “not the money of the FIFA President.”
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver,” said UEFA.
“The shabby, backroom, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent.
“And with reserves standing at over $5 billion, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.”
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), representing 47 member countries, utilized less direct language when it also expressed its approval of the plan’s retraction.
The Kuala Lumpur-based organization stated that any initiative potentially affecting global football must be “timely, transparent, and meaningful,” involving discussions with Confederations, the FIFA Council, Member Associations (MAs), and other stakeholders.
The North American and Caribbean federation (CONCACAF), which encompasses the three World Cup co-hosts—the US, Canada, and Mexico—has joined those two influential organizations in denouncing the action.
The South American confederation CONMEBOL, led by president Alejandro Dominguez, a close associate of Infantino, requested additional details regarding the “scope, structure, governance, and potential impacts” of the initiative.
The African Football Confederation (CAF) had encouraged its members to reassess the plan, but the upcoming meeting next week regarding the proposal is now unnecessary.
Pressure increased on Infantino on Friday following the resignation of senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, who described the proposal as “a poor deal for FIFA’s member associations, a poor deal for football, and a poor deal for the game’s long-term future.”
In the announcement declaring the plan’s termination, Infantino stated that the initiative was designed to empower member associations and that it would have proceeded only with majority backing.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he said.
The embattled Infantino said he would focus on restoring harmony while continuing to grow the game.
“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support,” he said.
