In brief
Following FIFA’s decision to cancel a controversial plan to sell stakes in its competitions, UEFA released a statement declaring it has lost confidence in President Gianni Infantino’s leadership. The Confederation praised the move as a victory for football and highlighted Infantino’s failure to uphold 2016 promises of transparency. FIFA’s COO and senior adviser also resigned, calling the deal a “bad deal for football.” The fallout sees major confederations, including UEFA, ready to boycott future World Cups if similar proposals are revived.
On Saturday, UEFA announced it had lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino following the decision to scrap a controversial plan to sell stakes in FIFA’s competitions to private investors.
In its statement, the European governing body praised the move as “a victory for the whole game” and accused Infantino of failing to deliver on the transparency vows he made during his 2016 campaign for the presidency. “The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” the statement read.
The proposed investment plan, which would have transferred ownership rights of major tournaments to private entities, sparked backlash from several confederations and was met with a boycott threat from UEFA and other governing bodies.
FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said on Friday that the governing body’s own administration had been “deceived” about the project, and senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned, calling the deal “a bad deal for football” that would “mortgage football’s future.”
According to UEFA, the decision marks a serious rift that could reshape the future of the World Cup and its governance. The Confederation warned remaining FIFA member associations that if the investment plan is revived, it would consider boycotting future World Cups.
For more details on FIFA’s investment plan removal, see “FIFA scraps controversial World Cup investment plan.”
