Fifa World Cup investment plan was a ‘breach of trust’, say confederations

Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have accused Fifa president Gianni Infantino of a “fundamental breach of trust” over his failed attempt to sell an interest in the World Cup to private equity investors.

In an open letter described as being addressed to the “football family”, the three confederations said the proposal represented a serious failure of judgment and questioned whether Infantino had put himself above the organisations and members he was elected to serve.

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the letter said.

The statement was signed by Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, AFC president Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, along with the three organisations’ general secretaries.

Uefa governs football in Europe, Concacaf represents North, Central America and the Caribbean, and the AFC is responsible for the sport in Asia.

“Football is the world’s greatest shared passion. It belongs to no individual and no institution. It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the member associations and every institution entrusted with safeguarding its future,” the open letter said. “It is in that spirit, as confederations representing its members, that we speak collectively today.”

Infantino is facing increasing opposition after the plan to sell World Cup stakes to private equity investors collapsed.

“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him,” the letter said. “These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve.”

Uefa had previously threatened to boycott the World Cup and other Fifa competitions, even after Fifa withdrew its proposal and apologised for what it described as errors.

The Norwegian Football Federation has called for Infantino to resign, while the English Football Association has withdrawn its backing for his re-election next March.

“Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honoured now,” the letter said. “For leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.”

Fifa said last Wednesday that it had apologised for mistakes connected to the abandoned plan. It added that senior officials attending a crisis meeting in Morocco had “reaffirmed their full support” for Infantino’s presidency.

The meeting itself has also been criticised by the three confederations.

“Fifa’s own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco,” the open letter said. “No Fifa council members or member associations were invited to participate. Only the management committee, composed of Fifa-employed senior staff, was present.”

The confederations said an apology for communication problems did not adequately address the concerns raised by the proposal.

“It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment,” the letter said. “There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the Fifa World Cup was a profound failure of judgment not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions Fifa exists to serve.”