Europe 'Lost Trust' in Infantino
UEFA has confirmed that FIFA President Gianni Infantino has lost the “trust” of European football, despite his withdrawal of a plan that would have allowed private-sector investors to acquire stakes in commercial activities linked to the World Cup, following a wave of global rejection.
In a statement, UEFA said: “The current leadership of FIFA has not only lost the trust of UEFA, but has also lost the trust of many other parties within the football family.”
UEFA was at the forefront of opponents to FIFA’s plan, which aimed to raise up to $4.2 billion.
The proposed commercial entity was set to manage major tournaments, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup.
While UEFA welcomed the withdrawal of the proposal, which was unanimously rejected alongside other continental federations “whose mission is to protect football,” it did not soften its criticism of FIFA President Infantino.
The statement noted that Infantino, 56, had broken promises made when he ran for the FIFA presidency in 2016, most notably the commitment to “transparency,” and his assurance that “FIFA’s money is your money (the member associations’), not the FIFA President’s money.”
It added: “The opaque deal, orchestrated behind closed doors and attempted to be imposed, was far from transparent.”
Infantino had backed down from the project to open the world’s top football body to private investors after facing widespread criticism and concerns about turning football into a commodity, amid allegations of conflicts of interest.
In a statement, Infantino said: “After carefully listening to all viewpoints, it has become clear that the project has created divisions that no longer serve the fundamental purpose for which it was launched.”
For his part, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said in a statement: “The future of world football must always be built on appropriate consultations, collective dialogue, and respect for the governance structures of our sport.”
Meanwhile, the German Football Association called for a “comprehensive investigation,” while simultaneously demanding a “radical change in corporate culture” within the world’s top football body.
Gianni Infantino, president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), who had so far been insulated from any threat to his position at the helm of the global governing body responsible for managing football, suffered a crushing blow when his bold efforts to tap into private equity wealth met with a fierce backlash.
A statement issued by FIFA, attributed to Infantino, acknowledged that the proposal to create a commercial entity to manage the World Cup and other tournaments, with 20 percent of it sold to private investors, “was divisive and failed miserably.”
This plan was Infantino’s idea, and its failure less than two weeks after the conclusion of the most profitable World Cup in history has led to a kind of isolation for the Swiss official at the head of an organization he had planned to lead for another four and a half years.
Victor Matheson, an economics professor at Holy Cross College in Massachusetts, told Reuters, “A week ago, Infantino was at the peak of success and was almost certain to be re-elected by a large margin because he ran the election on the backdrop of the tournament’s significant financial success. All of that is now at risk.”
Before the World Cup began, Infantino’s re-election for a fourth term at the FIFA General Assembly, scheduled to take place in Morocco next March, seemed a foregone conclusion, with no rival candidates in sight.
But the picture changed completely after three days of anger, during which even the most loyal federations protested the lack of consultation regarding the proposal, and Infantino faced accusations of selling the soul of the game.
Although rival candidates for the FIFA presidency are now almost certain to emerge before the elections, it may still be too early to rule out Infantino, even if he is weakened, should he decide to run.
Infantino will need a two-thirds majority in the first round or a simple majority in subsequent rounds to extend his presidency until 2031.
In a notable development, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, president of the Jordanian Football Association and head of the West Asian Football Federation, has called for the abolition of the secret ballot in the elections for the presidency of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
