Opposition to Gianni Infantino has gained a new front in world football. UEFA, Concacaf and AFC, which represent Europe, North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Asia, began working together to develop an alternative governance model for FIFA, as revealed by the British newspaper The Guardian.
UEFA, Concacaf and AFC unite against Infantino and threaten to break with FIFA
Opposition to Gianni Infantino has gained a new front in world football. UEFA, Concacaf and AFC, which represent Europe, North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Asia, began working together to develop an alternative governance...
The initiative comes after the three confederations unsuccessfully demanded an independent analysis of the entity's management. Dissatisfaction increased after the revelation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, which envisaged the sale of a 21% stake in the World Cup to private investors.
- The movement raises issues that go beyond Infantino's continued presidency.
- The group intends to define what FIFA's role should be in international football, how the entity should be structured, what governance rules it should adopt and how resources should reach...
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The initiative comes after the three confederations unsuccessfully demanded an independent analysis of the entity's management. Dissatisfaction increased after the revelation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, which envisaged the sale of a 21% stake in the World Cup to private investors. The proposal ended up being abandoned.
The movement raises issues that go beyond Infantino's continued presidency. The group intends to define what FIFA's role should be in international football, how the entity should be structured, what governance rules it should adopt and how resources should reach national federations. FIFA has 211 affiliated associations.
Project could pave the way for a rival entity to FIFA
According to The Guardian, the document being prepared could be presented as a proposal to reform FIFA itself. If Infantino rejects the changes, the plan could also serve as a platform for an opposition candidate in the 2027 presidential election. In a scenario of deeper rupture, the structure studied could even be used as a basis for the creation of a competing organization.
UEFA, Concacaf and AFC have already started preliminary talks about the possibility of organizing their own competitions if the impasse with the current FIFA leadership continues. On Monday, the entities released a joint demonstration increasing pressure for a change of command.
One of the main points of the crisis is the failed FFE project. The leaders of the three confederations accuse Infantino of making decisions without adequate consultation and defend that an entity outside football should conduct an independent investigation into the episode.
UEFA threatens to boycott FIFA competitions
The dispute could also affect tournaments organized by FIFA. UEFA maintains the possibility of withdrawing its selections from competitions from the entity if it does not receive guarantees of changes in governance and that an initiative similar to the FFE will not be resumed.
The first impact could already occur at the U20 Women's World Cup, scheduled for September. According to the British newspaper, the competition runs the risk of being played without European teams.
UEFA conditions a change of position on the opening of an independent investigation into the attempted commercialization of part of the World Cup and the presentation of legally binding guarantees that the episode will not be repeated.
Meetings in Salzburg increase pressure on Infantino
European football leaders are meeting in Salzburg, Austria, where the UEFA Super Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa is taking place. The meeting is the first in person between some of the continent's main leaders since the beginning of the crisis involving FIFA.
Among the planned talks is a meeting between Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA, and Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain and European Football Clubs (EFC). The objective is to reinforce the joint position of clubs and European federations before FIFA's management.
Victor Montagliani appears as a possible rival for Infantino
The movement also occurs on the eve of the definition of candidates for the FIFA presidency. Anyone who wants to run for the position must formalize their candidacy by November 18th. The election will be held in March 2027.
Victor Montagliani, president of Concacaf, currently appears as one of the most popular names to face Infantino, although he has previously stated that his priority is to seek re-election as head of the regional confederation.
The opposition, however, still does not dominate all regions of world football. Conmebol, responsible for South America, and CAF, which brings together African federations, have expressed support for Infantino in recent days.
The division increases the importance of the next few weeks for the future of FIFA. In addition to the dispute over who will lead the entity from 2027 onwards, the discussions began to involve the power structure itself responsible for managing world football.
FIFA under coordinated attack: "The era of Infantino is over"
Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, accuses Gianni Infantino of "helping to destroy the essence" of football, and warns that the controversy caused by the private initiative's intention to win the World Cup "is just the tip of the iceberg of what is happening" at FIFA.