Fifa crisis deepens as Uefa and Concacaf withdraw support for Infantino

Fifa president Gianni Infantino is facing an unprecedented leadership crisis after Uefa and Concacaf said they no longer had confidence in him, following the collapse of his proposed $4.2bn deal to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights.

The abandoned plan would have given private investors a share in a new Fifa unit responsible for running events including the World Cup. It provoked strong opposition from regional confederations, who said they had been excluded from discussions about a move that could have changed the commercial structure of world football.

The reaction has intensified scrutiny of Infantino’s leadership and could make his bid for a fourth term as Fifa president more difficult. Football officials are now calling for stronger oversight of decisions with potentially far-reaching consequences for the sport’s governance and finances.

Uefa said its 55 member associations had unanimously rejected the proposal earlier this week. While it described Fifa’s decision to abandon the plan as a “victory for the whole game”, it warned that restoring confidence in the governing body would be a much longer process.

“The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” Uefa said in a statement.

“Uefa thanks all the fans, leagues, clubs, players, individuals, associations and confederations that opposed the scheme, alongside the many prime ministers, heads of state and commentators who have demonstrated to the Fifa president that football is not for sale.

“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. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.”

Concacaf, the confederation representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean, said the proposal had been taken forward without transparency, consultation or due process.

“A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first,” it said.

“This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour. A comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative.”

Uefa also criticised Infantino over commitments he made when elected in 2016, including promises to operate Fifa transparently and use its funds for the benefit of member associations.

“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 added.

“And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.

“Uefa will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world and right across the game to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing Fifa Forward programme.”

Fifa and Infantino declined to comment on Uefa’s statement.

The Dutch FA said the process had caused a “fundamental breach of trust” in the Fifa president, while German FA chief Bernd Neuendorf said Infantino had “acted unilaterally and without transparency”, rather than in the best interests of football.

Javier Tebas, president of Spanish LaLiga, called for Infantino to resign. He said withdrawing the proposal was welcome but did not address what he regarded as a wider governance problem.

“The problem was never just one proposal. The problem is a governance model that concentrates power, reduces checks and balances and marginalises those directly affected by its decisions,” he said on social media.

“I believe that Gianni Infantino should not continue in charge of Fifa. World football needs new leadership to modernise its governance, regain institutional credibility and make future decisions in consultation with those involved.”

Infantino has retained support from Qatar, which said the proposal had merit and backed his efforts. Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), also welcomed the withdrawal while reaffirming his support for Infantino.

The proposal was announced on Tuesday and was quickly met by objections from regional confederations, which said they had not been consulted. Infantino later said Fifa had dropped the plan after listening “carefully to all the views”.

Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa welcomed the reversal on Saturday. Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman said he expected “any initiative that has the potential to impact global football will be presented and discussed with the confederations, the Fifa Council, member associations and other stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner”.

“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 controversy comes as Infantino prepares to seek another term. He said in April that he intended to stand for re-election for a fourth term as Fifa president.

Since succeeding Sepp Blatter in 2016, Infantino has been re-elected unopposed twice and appeared to have firm control of the organisation. His re-election for the 2027-31 term had seemed almost certain, but experts told Reuters that the backlash had exposed dissatisfaction among some Fifa members ahead of March’s Congress in Morocco.

“He’s obviously been kind of egomaniacal in everything that he’s done. I know that he’s rubbed many of the member associations the wrong way with some of his decisions,” sports marketing analyst Bob Dorfman said.

The speed of the reversal has also drawn attention, coming less than two weeks after Infantino celebrated what was described as the most commercially successful World Cup in history.

“As close as two weeks ago, he’s riding on top of the world, the most successful sports mega event in the history of this planet,” said economist Victor Matheson, a sports business expert at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.

“And just two weeks later, he’s fighting for his political life.”