UEFA Intensifies Criticism of Gianni Infantino After Project Withdrawal: "He Lost Our Trust"

Despite the reversal of the project, UEFA raised the tone of its dispute with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday after the leader withdrew the idea of opening the organization's commercial activities to private investors. While celebrating the decision, the European body stated that the FIFA head "lost the trust" of the confederation and of "numerous other members of the football family".

The conflict arises less than a year before the end of Infantino's term and the elections scheduled for March 2027, in which he is currently the only candidate.

On Friday night, Infantino announced the withdrawal of the initiative proposing to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a company open to private capital that would manage FIFA's commercial activities and events, including the World Cup.

"After carefully listening to all viewpoints, it became clear that the project has created divisions, which no longer respond to the interest of the initial objective," the leader stated in a press release. The decision came amid strong rejection from federations and confederations, and following the resignation of his chief advisor, Carlos Cordeiro.

In this context, the European body issued a statement released on Saturday, describing the abandonment of the project as a "victory for all football," although it clarified that the conflict is far from being resolved. "The proposal has been rejected. The task of restoring trust in FIFA has only just begun," he asserted.

The entity, led by Aleksander Ceferin, also harshly criticized the way the initiative was pushed forward and recalled the promises made by Infantino before assuming the presidency of the organization in 2016: "He did not fulfill those two promises," UEFA stated. "The shabby, opaque project concocted behind the scenes that he tried to impose by force was anything but transparent."

Among the criticisms that the project sparked, UEFA was the most forceful and even warned unanimously that its teams and clubs could stop participating in future competitions organized by FIFA, including the World Cup, if the project continued.

The European body interpreted the initiative as an attempt to sell part of the World Cup business to private investors, a possibility that, it believed, opened the door to greater commercialization of the sport and potential conflicts of interest.

In that context, it recalled the statements of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter: "If the jewels of football are sold to private investors, a part of this sport is also being sold, and above all its soul."

Beyond Europe, the Asian Confederation (AFC) also demanded that the future of international football be built on dialogue and respect for the governance structures of the sport.

For its part, CONCACAF rejected the proposal. In contrast, the African Confederation and the Oceania Confederation asked their associations to analyze the project more deeply, while CONMEBOL requested additional information before taking a definitive position.

Had the initiative succeeded, each FIFA member federation would have received an extraordinary allocation of $20 million at the beginning of 2027, in addition to an increase in the funds planned for the period 2027-2030, which would rise from $8 million to $20 million.

The president of the Norwegian Federation, Lise Klaveness, questioned that proposal and labeled it as "a form of blackmail," considering that FIFA "did not need that money."

After the withdrawal of the project, UEFA called for FIFA to use part of its reserves, estimated at $5 billion, to strengthen the already existing FIFA Forward program and increase funding for national federations.

"We must start using some of that money that remains stagnant in FIFA's bank account to give the boost that grassroots football and the entire game need in each of FIFA's 211 countries. But we do not need to sell the family's china to pay for it," the confederation stated.

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