The heads of UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC jointly published an open letter on Monday criticizing FIFA's leadership on grounds of integrity and accountability, without naming FIFA President Gianni Infantino directly. The letter condemned a now-abandoned plan to sell off part of FIFA's commercial operations to investors and accused the leadership of bypassing the FIFA Council in pursuing it.
Three continental football federations issue joint letter criticizing FIFA leadership without naming Infantino
The heads of UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC jointly published an open letter on Monday criticizing FIFA's leadership on grounds of integrity and accountability, without naming FIFA President Gianni Infantino directly. The letter condemned a now-abandoned plan to sell off part of FIFA's commercial operations to investors and accused the leadership of bypassing the FIFA Council in pursuing it.
The letter, titled 'Open Letter to the Football Family,' stated that 'leadership in football is not a possession' and that '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 three confederations criticized the scrapped proposal to form a FIFA subsidiary to sell part of its commercial operations, saying that even in withdrawing the plan, FIFA 'did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong.' They described it as a 'fundamental breach of trust' and criticized what they characterized as unilateral action that bypassed the FIFA Council, including a summit held in Morocco with only selected senior figures.
The letter follows media reports that UEFA paid off an alleged mistress of Infantino during his time at the European confederation. FIFA responded by criticizing what it called 'unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims' and stated it was 'increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President.' FIFA had not replied to a request for comment on the open letter as of publication.
FIFA has 211 voting members, and a presidential candidate in a two-candidate race would require 106 votes to win. UEFA (55 members), AFC (46), and CONCACAF (35) would collectively hold enough votes to oust Infantino if their members voted as a bloc at the March 2027 election. However, internal divisions within the confederations complicate that scenario.
Mexico, described as one of CONCACAF's most powerful nations and a co-host of the 2026 World Cup, has backed Infantino. Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, is among several Asian nations that have broken ranks with the AFC position. The South American federation CONMEBOL has not yet stated a clear position, though Argentina has expressed support for Infantino. The Oceania federation has also not declared its stance.
The African confederation CAF, which has 54 members, announced last week through its executive committee that it 'unanimously reconfirmed its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino,' citing his support for African football.
No candidate has publicly declared an intention to challenge Infantino, who won the last presidential election unopposed and had been expected to do so again. UEFA Vice President Laura McAllister told DW that finding a unifying candidate is not straightforward: 'There's such an imperative to get a candidate who could unite the whole world of football, not just Europe in this case.' She added that 'the right candidate has to also have the right level of support' and should be someone who 'recognizes that we are simply custodians of the sport.'
UEFA executives are expected to discuss the matter at the Super Cup later in the week. Separately, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is scheduled for early September in Poland, a UEFA member nation, and it remains unclear whether European teams will participate while Infantino remains in charge.
- Infantino himself has not been quoted or given a direct response to the open letter in this article.
- The specific contents of the scrapped commercial sell-off plan are not fully detailed.
- The nature and outcome of the alleged payment related to media reports about Infantino's time at UEFA are not established.
- CONMEBOL's and the Oceania federation's positions remain formally undeclared, and no statements from them are provided.
- No details are given about which nations within UEFA may not be fully aligned with the confederation's leadership position.
Read the original at Deutsche Welle