UEFA Declares No Confidence in Infantino After Failed World Cup Equity Plan/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ UEFA declared that it had lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino after helping defeat his plan to sell private investors a stake in World Cup commercial operations. CONCACAF joined calls for accountability and a leadership review, while officials in Europe and Asia criticized FIFA’s decision-making and governance. Infantino can seek another term, but opponents have until Nov. 18 to enter the presidential election scheduled for March in Rabat, Morocco.
Quick Look
- UEFA said FIFA’s current leadership had lost its confidence.
- UEFA warned that “No option should be off the table.”
- CONCACAF called for a full review of FIFA’s leadership.
- Infantino withdrew the private equity proposal early Saturday.
- The plan called for a $20 billion commercial subsidiary.
- Private investors would have owned a 20% stake.
- UEFA’s 55 member associations had threatened to boycott FIFA competitions.
- The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF also opposed the proposal.
- FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest.
- FIFA operations chief Kevin Lamour said staff had been deceived.
- Infantino previously abandoned major proposals in 2018 and 2021.
- Candidates for FIFA president must enter the race by Nov. 18.
- A contested election would require at least 106 votes for a majority.
- Infantino is eligible for one more four-year term.
- The Qatar Football Association issued a statement supporting Infantino.
Deep Look
UEFA turns attention to Infantino’s leadership
GENEVA — UEFA has declared that it no longer has confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and has signaled that it could support efforts to end his decade-long leadership of global soccer.
The European governing body issued its warning Saturday, only hours after Infantino abandoned a plan to sell private investors a stake in FIFA’s World Cup commercial operations.
UEFA, led by President Aleksander Čeferin, had organized the strongest opposition to the proposal and helped create a threat by European federations to boycott FIFA competitions.
After defeating the proposed deal, UEFA shifted its focus toward determining who developed it and whether Infantino should remain president.
“No option should be off the table,” UEFA said.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
CONCACAF demands full leadership review
CONCACAF, the governing body for soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, later joined the call for accountability.
The confederation said the controversial proposal indicated broader problems with FIFA’s governance and could not be treated as an isolated mistake.
“A (World Cup) proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behavior. A full review of this leadership must now take place.”
CONCACAF added that FIFA officials have “a duty of service over power. Where that duty is not upheld, accountability cannot be optional.”
The statement raised the possibility that opposition to Infantino could extend across multiple continental confederations before FIFA’s next presidential election.
FIFA withdrew $20 billion proposal
Infantino had proposed transferring FIFA’s commercial businesses into a subsidiary valued at approximately $20 billion.
The new company would have managed commercial operations connected to the men’s and women’s World Cups and Club World Cups.
Private investors would have acquired a 20% stake in the subsidiary.
The planned “anchor investor” was a New York-based investment firm launched by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, who is U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Opposition intensified each day after FIFA announced the proposal Tuesday.
Infantino ultimately withdrew it early Saturday after resistance from Europe, Asia and North America and a revolt among senior FIFA officials.
UEFA condemns FIFA’s secretive process
UEFA said stopping the private equity proposal was not enough. It called for an investigation into how the project advanced without adequate consultation.
“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game,” UEFA said. “We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.
“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.”
The language suggested that UEFA intends to coordinate with other regional governing bodies on governance reforms and potentially on the future of FIFA’s presidency.
Norwegian federation says oversight mechanisms failed
Norwegian soccer federation President Lise Klaveness, an elected member of UEFA’s executive committee, said the proposal placed international soccer cooperation at risk.
She argued that existing oversight systems had failed to prevent FIFA’s leadership from advancing a plan driven by individual rather than collective interests.
“The entire framework of international football cooperation was unnecessarily put at risk in pursuit of individual interests rather than the best interests of the game,” Klaveness said. ”This has been visible to many for a long time, including those of us elected to positions intended to safeguard checks and balances and provide ongoing oversight. We have to recognize that these mechanisms have not worked well enough.”
Her comments expanded the debate beyond the abandoned proposal to the effectiveness of FIFA’s internal checks and balances.
Asian soccer leader calls for consultation
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also criticized the way the investment proposal was developed.
He said “the future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game.”
The AFC had joined UEFA and CONCACAF in opposing Infantino’s plan.
The combined membership of the three confederations could become important if Infantino faces a challenger in FIFA’s next presidential election.
Boycott threat forced FIFA retreat
Infantino’s plan began collapsing after all 55 UEFA member associations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions if the proposal moved forward.
CONCACAF and the AFC subsequently confirmed their opposition.
The boycott threat created immediate uncertainty for international soccer because the next FIFA competition, the Women’s Under-20 World Cup, is scheduled to begin Sept. 5 in Poland.
FIFA withdrew the plan before the boycott could be implemented, but the rapid reversal did not stop demands for leadership accountability.
Senior adviser resigns from FIFA role
FIFA’s internal opposition became public Friday when senior Infantino adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned.
Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker and former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, represented FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup.
He urged other senior FIFA employees to speak publicly about the proposal and its potential consequences.
His resignation placed additional pressure on Infantino by showing that opposition existed within the president’s immediate circle.
FIFA executive says proposal belonged to Infantino
FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour issued his own statement hours after Cordeiro’s resignation.
Lamour told The Associated Press that FIFA employees had been deceived by Infantino’s lack of transparency while the private investment project was being planned.
“It is the project of one person,” wrote Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”
The criticism from FIFA’s chief operating officer strengthened claims that the project had not gone through a sufficiently open or collective approval process.
Infantino has a history of abandoned proposals
The World Cup equity plan was at least the third ambitious Infantino initiative to divide international soccer before ultimately being abandoned.
In 2018, Infantino promoted a secretive $25 billion offer from Japan’s SoftBank to establish new competitions.
Critics warned that the proposal could threaten existing continental tournaments involving clubs and national teams. FIFA eventually abandoned the initiative.
In 2021, Infantino supported holding the World Cup every two years instead of once every four years.
That proposal angered national federations and the International Olympic Committee, where Infantino serves as an elected member. FIFA also dropped that plan.
Despite those controversies, Infantino was reelected without opposition in 2019 and 2023.
The reaction to the World Cup private equity proposal could be more politically damaging because UEFA is now openly questioning whether he should remain in office.
FIFA election deadline approaches
Potential candidates have until Nov. 18 to enter FIFA’s next presidential race.
The election is scheduled exactly four months later in Rabat, Morocco, where FIFA has its African headquarters.
FIFA’s statutes allow Infantino to seek one additional four-year term.
Winning a contested election requires 106 votes to secure a majority of FIFA’s 211 member associations.
Although regional confederations do not always vote as unified blocs, most of UEFA’s 55 members, the AFC’s 46 members and CONCACAF’s 35 members would create a substantial base for a challenger.
Together, those confederations account for 136 FIFA votes, although it remains unclear how many national associations would support an effort to remove Infantino.
Failed subsidiary raised questions about Infantino’s future
The proposed commercial spinoff appeared capable of creating a commissioner-like position that Infantino might have occupied after his potential final presidential term ended in 2031.
Such a role could have paid considerably more than his current FIFA compensation, which includes an annual salary and bonus package worth more than $6 million.
The project’s collapse eliminates that potential structure while intensifying scrutiny of Infantino’s leadership and motivations.
UEFA’s statement indicates that European officials now want to investigate who participated in designing the subsidiary and who stood to benefit from it.
Not every FIFA member has turned against Infantino.
The Qatar Football Association issued a statement Saturday supporting him and welcoming his decision to abandon the proposal.
Its president, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, said: “We welcome FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s decision to withdraw the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal in the interest of the global football community.
“While the proposal had merit, we applaud the wisdom behind prioritising unity among Member Associations. The Qatar Football Association fully supports President Infantino’s efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally.”
Qatar’s response shows that Infantino retains support among some influential national federations.
The central question is whether that support will be sufficient if UEFA and other confederations recruit a credible challenger before the November deadline.
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