ZURICH (Reuters) - UEFA said it had lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday after world soccer’s governing body abandoned plans to sell a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup.
FIFA’s proposal had triggered a fierce backlash from regional confederations who said they had been blindsided by Infantino’s plans to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling about a 20% stake to private investors in a new unit that would run FIFA events, including the World Cup.
The swift reversal has exposed growing unease within world soccer over Infantino’s leadership style, with football officials demanding greater oversight of decisions that could reshape the governance and commercial future of the sport.
UEFA, whose 55 members had unanimously rejected the proposal earlier this week, declared FIFA’s retreat a “victory for the whole game” while adding that the “task of rebuilding trust in FIFA” had only just begun.
“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,” it said in a statement.
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“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.”
The backlash raised questions about Infantino’s political capital as he prepares to seek another term in office.
UEFA reminded Infantino about the promises he made when he was elected FIFA president in 2016 -- vowing to work with transparency and saying FIFA’s money belonged to the national associations.
“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 program.”
FIFA and Infantino declined to comment on UEFA’s statement.
Infantino’s plan, announced on Tuesday, quickly ran into a storm of opposition from regional confederations, who complained they had not been consulted on a move that could alter the commercial structure of world football.
Following the backlash, Infantino said world soccer’s governing body had abandoned the plans after listening “carefully to all the views”.
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa on Saturday welcomed FIFA’s reversal.
Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman said he expected that “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.”
Since taking over from Sepp Blatter in 2016, he has been re-elected unopposed twice and appeared firmly in control of the organization.