UEFA welcomes FIFA investment plan withdrawal
UEFA has welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon its controversial private investment proposal, calling the move “a victory for the whole game” while declaring that it has lost confidence in FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s leadership. The governing body for European football made the remarks after FIFA officially scrapped plans to sell stakes in its competitions following widespread opposition from football associations around the world.
On August 1, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the proposal to bring private investors into FIFA tournaments had been withdrawn after facing intense backlash and threats of a boycott. The plan had sparked strong criticism from UEFA, which argued that football’s global competitions should not be treated as commercial assets.
Before the proposal was abandoned, UEFA had firmly opposed the idea, stating:
“Football is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Following FIFA’s decision to withdraw the proposal, UEFA issued another strongly worded statement welcoming the outcome while criticising Infantino’s leadership.
The statement read:
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
UEFA also reminded members of the promises Infantino made when he first sought election as FIFA president in 2016. Quoting his campaign pledge, the organisation said:
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of FIFA’s member associations to elect him as their president in 2016, he said: ‘Of course we have to be transparent.’”
The European governing body accused Infantino of failing to live up to that commitment, claiming he had handled FIFA’s finances without sufficient transparency and had treated the organisation’s money as though it belonged to him personally.
The controversy began on July 29, when Infantino reportedly offered each of FIFA’s 211 member associations$40 million in exchange for supporting a proposal that would allow private investment in FIFA competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.
UEFA responded swiftly by announcing it would boycott future World Cups if the proposal moved forward. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also declared that it “stands in solidarity” with UEFA and Concacaf, adding further pressure on FIFA to reconsider the plan.
The criticism did not stop there. FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour reportedly admitted that the organisation’s own administration had been “deceived” about the investment project. Meanwhile, FIFA senior adviser on global strategy and governance Carlos Cordeiro resigned over the proposal, describing it as:
“A bad deal for football”
He also warned that it would:
“Mortgage football’s future.”
The episode has created fresh uncertainty around Infantino’s leadership ahead of FIFA’s next presidential election. Infantino, who was first elected FIFA president in 2016 after defeating AFC president Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa by 115 votes to 88, is expected to seek another term. FIFA’s next president will be confirmed at the organisation’s 77th Congress in Morocco next March, with candidates required to submit their nominations by November 18.
