UEFA intends to remove Gianni Infantino from the position of FIFA president.
UEFA expressed no confidence in the FIFA leadership after President Gianni Infantino's plan to transfer World Cup commercial rights to private investors was canceled.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) issued a sharp statement after plans by FIFA President Gianni Infantino to create a $20 billion private investment company to manage World Cup revenues were abandoned. AP reported on this.
In its statement, UEFA emphasized that FIFA's current leadership has lost the trust of not only European football but also many members of the international football community.
According to the organization, important decisions affecting the fate of football should not be prepared in secrecy and in haste. UEFA stated that it will cooperate with other confederations to determine how this initiative emerged, hold those responsible accountable, and prevent such situations from recurring in the future.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported that if Gianni Infantino does not voluntarily leave his position, UEFA is ready to push forward a motion of no confidence against him. According to the publication, all 55 national associations that are members of UEFA are ready to support such an initiative. Under UEFA's statutes, the consent of at least 43 member associations is sufficient to initiate such a voting process.
On Tuesday, Infantino had proposed spinning off FIFA's commercial activities, including the men's and women's World Cups and the Club World Cup, into a new $20 billion subsidiary and selling a 20 percent stake to private investors.
However, the plan faced strong opposition within a few days. The 55 UEFA member countries expressed their disapproval of the initiative and agreed to consider the issue of boycotting FIFA competitions. Later, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), as well as the Asian Football Confederation, also announced that they would not support the plan.
Opposition was also observed within FIFA itself. The organization's president's senior advisor, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned and called on other senior officials to openly express their position.
Following this, FIFA's Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, stated that the project had not been sufficiently discussed within the organization and that staff had not been fully informed about the plan, and that the initiative should not be implemented.
As a result, on Saturday FIFA officially cancelled the plan to transfer World Cup commercial rights to private investors.
Lise Klaveness, President of the Norwegian Football Federation and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, stated that this incident has damaged the international football governance system and emphasized the need to strengthen oversight mechanisms.
Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation, stated that important decisions concerning world football should only be made following broad consultations, collective dialogue, and adherence to existing governance principles.
This was another major initiative by Gianni Infantino that was cancelled in recent years. Previously, in 2018 he had put forward a $25 billion project to organize new international competitions, and in 2021 he proposed the idea of holding the World Cup every two years, but both initiatives failed following strong opposition from the football community.
Under FIFA's statutes, Infantino has the right to stand for another four-year term as president. The next presidential election will take place in March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco, and the candidate registration period will end on November 18, 2026.
