Infantino position untenable after failed World Cup rights plan, says leagues chief

Gianni Infantino’s position as FIFA president is “untenable” after his attempt to sell a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup collapsed, according to Claudius Schaefer, head of the organisation representing Europe’s professional football leagues.

Schaefer said there could be “only one consequence” for Infantino after the proposal prompted widespread opposition from regional football associations.

“When I saw how this whole thing unfolded and that Fifa’s key bodies weren’t involved, then there’s essentially only one consequence in any company or association,” Schaefer told Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung.

Asked whether that meant Infantino was no longer acceptable as FIFA president, Schaefer replied: “This is usually the consequence when someone in a company pushes such a business deal forward without anyone knowing about it.”

FIFA said on Friday that it had abandoned the plan following a backlash from across the game. On Saturday, regional confederations UEFA and CONCACAF said they had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership.

Schaefer is chief executive of the Swiss Football League as well as leading European Leagues, which represents 53 professional men’s and women’s football leagues.

He said the proposed commercial arrangement raised concerns that FIFA’s priority was becoming the generation of greater profits for third parties through the creation of more competitions, and larger versions of existing tournaments.

“It’s solely about the financial advantages; everything else is completely ignored,” Schaefer said.

European Leagues opposed the plan because it feared the additional competitions would place further pressure on an already congested international calendar. Schaefer said the consequences would be felt by domestic championships, which would have to operate around an increasing number of international fixtures.

The proposal also caused concern because, according to Schaefer, it had not been discussed with the governing body’s key decision-making structures.

“Nobody knew about the plans, not even the Fifa Council, the governing body of Fifa. I was very surprised that the president was acting completely alone in this matter,” he said.

Infantino’s plan had been withdrawn before it could proceed, but the reaction from UEFA and CONCACAF has intensified scrutiny of his position. Schaefer’s comments represent the strongest call from the European leagues’ leadership for him to leave the FIFA presidency.

The dispute centres on the balance between FIFA’s commercial ambitions and the crowded schedule faced by clubs and national teams. European Leagues has consistently opposed any expansion that would add matches to the calendar at the expense of domestic competitions, while the failed World Cup rights proposal has also raised questions about how FIFA’s major commercial decisions are made.

The organisation’s position is that the interests of leagues and competitions must be considered before plans involving the international calendar are advanced.