Current FIFA Leadership Has Lost UEFA’s Confidence’ as World Cup Investment Plan Collapses
A bitter row has erupted at the highest level of world football after UEFA launched a stinging attack on FIFA President Gianni Infantino following the collapse of a controversial proposal to sell part of the commercial rights to the FIFA World Cup.
The abandoned plan, reportedly valued at about £15 billion, would have seen private investors acquire a 20 per cent stake in FIFA’s commercial assets.
Although the proposal has now been withdrawn, UEFA says the episode has exposed serious concerns about transparency and governance within football’s global governing body.
In an unusually forceful statement, the European football body welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon the project but accused its leadership of operating behind closed doors.
“Current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” UEFA said, calling for a thorough review of how the proposal was conceived and advanced.
UEFA also criticised what it described as secretive decision-making, saying football could not continue to be governed through “secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game.”
According to UEFA, the controversy has raised fundamental questions about accountability inside FIFA, despite promises of greater openness made by Infantino when he became president in 2016 following the corruption scandals that rocked the organisation during Sepp Blatter’s tenure.
The European governing body said it would work closely with its member associations and other football confederations in the coming weeks to examine what happened and ensure a similar situation does not arise again.
It added that every option should remain under consideration as confidence in FIFA’s leadership has been severely damaged.
The proposed investment scheme reportedly met stiff resistance from several continental football bodies, including UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC.
Reports indicated that opposition to the plan had become so strong that some confederations were prepared to consider drastic measures if FIFA proceeded with the sale.
UEFA insisted FIFA already possesses significant financial resources and argued there was no justification for selling a stake in its flagship competitions.
Instead, it urged the organisation to channel more of its existing funds into grassroots football across its 211 member associations.
Describing the withdrawal of the proposal as an important win for football, UEFA nevertheless warned that restoring trust in FIFA would require more than shelving a single project, insisting that meaningful reforms must now follow.
