UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC accuse Infantino of breaking football’s trust

UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have strongly criticised FIFA president Gianni Infantino over his abandoned plan to sell stakes in World Cup rights to private investors, saying the proposal represented a fundamental breach of trust.

In an open letter, the three continental confederations said the issue went beyond money, competition formats or the allocation of future World Cups. They argued that the integrity of football and the responsibility of those elected to lead it were at stake.

“Football is the greatest shared passion in the world. It belongs to no individual or institution,” the confederations wrote.

The letter also rejected the suggestion that the dispute was about a federation losing support it had earned, despite what they described as alarmist messages intended to convince their members otherwise.

“It is not about money. Nor is it about a federation losing the support it has earned, despite alarmist narratives designed to make our members believe otherwise,” they said.

The confederations said the disagreement was not linked to expanding competitions, awarding World Cups or reopening arguments over other decisions that had already been taken collectively.

“Nor is it about expanding competitions, awarding World Cups or reopening debates about other decisions taken collectively. Those decisions were made jointly and must stand,” the letter stated.

Instead, UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC said the central concern was the way football is governed and the standards expected of those entrusted with authority.

“It is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game and the integrity of those elected to lead it,” they wrote.

They added that leadership should be understood as a responsibility to serve football rather than as a form of personal ownership or power.

“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about clinging to power or demanding that it be held,” the confederations said.

“It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it to them. When trust is betrayed through deception, when an individual places themselves above the collective that entrusted them with authority, that duty is abandoned.”

FIFA defended Infantino last weekend, despite the criticism directed at him. The governing body had also sent a recent letter to all of its member associations acknowledging mistakes in the way the World Cup plan had been communicated.

However, UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF said that response did not go far enough to repair the damage caused by the proposal.

The confederations said FIFA had admitted errors in communication but had not accepted that the plan itself was fundamentally flawed.

“It has not been acknowledged that the proposal itself was fundamentally wrong. There is still no recognition that the attempt to sell a stake in the World Cup was a serious error of judgement – not merely a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust towards the institutions FIFA is supposed to serve,” they wrote.