UEFA Declares ‘No Confidence’ In Infantino As FIFA Abandons Controversial Investment Scheme

UEFA has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of breaking his promises on transparency and declared it has “lost confidence” in the governing body’s leadership after FIFA abandoned plans to sell a stake in its competitions to private investors.

In a strongly worded statement issued after FIFA withdrew its proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, UEFA described the move as a victory for football but said it had exposed serious concerns over the leadership of the world governing body.

The European governing body welcomed FIFA’s decision to shelve the proposal, which would have seen a private investment vehicle take a stake in FIFA competitions, including the FIFA World Cup.

UEFA said the proposal had been “unanimously rejected” by its 55 member associations, as well as by many other national federations and continental confederations across the world.

It also thanked fans, clubs, leagues, players, governments and football stakeholders who opposed the plan, saying their collective stance had demonstrated to FIFA that “football is not for sale”.

The statement launched a direct attack on Infantino, accusing him of abandoning the principles of openness he championed when he was elected FIFA president in 2016.

“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of FIFA’s Member Associations to elect him as their President in 2016, he promised transparency and said FIFA’s money belonged to its member associations,” UEFA said.

“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent.”

UEFA also criticised FIFA’s financial management, arguing that despite reserves exceeding 5 billion US dollars, the governing body had failed to channel sufficient resources into football development worldwide.

The organisation called for a comprehensive review of how the investment proposal emerged and vowed to work with its member associations and other confederations to ensure a similar process could not be repeated.

“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 statement read.

“No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”

UEFA also announced plans to work with football stakeholders worldwide on proposals to strengthen the existing FIFA Forward programme instead of pursuing private investment.

The confederation argued that FIFA should use its substantial financial reserves to increase support for grassroots football and national associations across its 211 member countries, rather than selling stakes in its competitions.

“This is a victory for the whole game,” UEFA concluded. “But it must not be the end of the story. The proposal has gone. The task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun.”

The statement follows FIFA’s decision to withdraw the controversial FFE proposal after widespread opposition from confederations and member associations, with UEFA viewing the retreat as a significant vote of no confidence in Infantino’s leadership.