FIFA’s Infantino under fire from three football confederations

Three football confederations declared football 'belongs to no individual,' in a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON /AFP via Getty Images

Article content

FIFA president Gianni Infantino came under renewed fire on Monday as a joint letter from three confederations — UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC — declared football “belongs to no individual”.

Article content

Infantino has been the butt of scathing criticism ever since launching, and then withdrawing within days, a plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including World Cups.

Article content

Article content

Article content

FIFA had hit back on Saturday at “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” football’s governing body and Infantino.

Article content

Article content

However, Monday’s letter from the governing bodies of European football (UEFA), North and Central America (CONCACAF) and Asia (AFC), showed his critics are unbowed.

Article content

“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power to be held,” they wrote.

Article content

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the confederations added.

Article content

The three confederations had been vociferous in their condemnation of Infantino’s plan and had not let up after it was shelved.

Article content

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is viewed as a potential challenger to Infantino, who will seek a fourth and final term at the FIFA presidential election in Rabat next March.

Article content

Candidates have to be declared by November 18.

Article content

Victor Montagliani, President of CONCACAF, is thought to be a potential contender to contest for FIFA’s presidency. Photo by Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz /Getty Images

Article content

UEFA’s threat to boycott World Cups if the private investment plan went ahead — in theory depriving the competition of teams including reigning men’s champions Spain and 2026 semi-finalists France and England — proved pivotal in Infantino withdrawing his plan.

Article content

Article content

Prior to this debacle Infantino had looked likely to be unopposed, after overseeing a successful World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Article content

Article content

The 56-year-old Swiss, who has been in situ for 10 years, has received the backing of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) while South American governing body CONMEBOL are largely supportive.

Article content

The confederations do not vote as blocs and there have been some supportive voices for Infantino from CONCACAF, Mexico, and two AFC members — Kuwait and 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, where he has a house.

Article content

Although the proposal has been dead in the water for over a week now — UEFA had termed it “a shabby, opaque, backroom deal” — the confederations harangued him for a lack of judgment.

Article content

“FIFA’s recent letter to its Vice-Presidents and 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process,” they said.

Article content

“It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment.”

Article content

‘Accountability’

Article content

Although Infantino had received the “full support” of senior FIFA directors last week in an emergency meeting he called in Morocco, the confederations said it was meaningless.