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Concacaf, UEFA, AFC unite against FIFA President Infantino: 'Football belongs to no individual'
🇲🇽 Mexico /Sports

Concacaf, UEFA, AFC unite against FIFA President Infantino: 'Football belongs to no individual'

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFC have expressed a fundamental loss of trust in FIFA President Gianni Infantino over his plan to sell World Cup stakes.
  • The confederations stated that Infantino's actions demonstrated a failure of judgment, not just a procedural error, and that football belongs to its stakeholders, not individuals.
  • FIFA is urged to go beyond acknowledging mistakes, as the confederations collectively voiced their concerns in an open letter, threatening a boycott.

European, North American, and Asian football confederations have jointly condemned FIFA President Gianni Infantino's recent attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup. In a strongly worded open letter, UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFC declared a "fundamental loss of trust" with the FIFA chief, accusing him of placing himself above the organization he serves.

Football is the world's greatest shared passion. It belongs to no individual or institution. It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the member associations and to each institution tasked with safeguarding its future.

— UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFCIn an open letter detailing their loss of trust in FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The letter, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three confederations, stated, "Football is the world's greatest shared passion. It belongs to no individual or institution. It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the member associations and to every institution tasked with safeguarding its future."

When trust is broken by deceit, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.

— UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFCIn an open letter detailing their loss of trust in FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

This collective stance marks a significant revolt against Infantino's leadership. The confederations criticized his actions as a "failure of judgment" rather than a mere "communication error." They emphasized that Infantino's conduct reflected someone who believes the game should be accountable to him, not the qualities expected of a custodian of the sport.

This is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game must be accountable to him.

— UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFCIn an open letter detailing their loss of trust in FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The organizations are demanding more than just an apology for the failed plan. They insist that FIFA acknowledge the profound error in judgment, not just a procedural misstep. UEFA had previously threatened to boycott FIFA competitions, even after the governing body abandoned its plan and apologized. The confederations are united in their demand for accountability and a commitment to safeguarding the future of football.

It treats it as a communication error, when what football witnessed was an error of judgment.

— UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFCIn an open letter detailing their loss of trust in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, criticizing FIFA's response to the World Cup stake sale plan.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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