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FIFA Warns of 'Concerted Effort' to Undermine President Infantino Amid Leadership Crisis

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • FIFA has issued a statement warning of a "concerted effort" to undermine the organization and its president, Gianni Infantino, amid growing disputes over his leadership.
  • The warning follows criticism of a failed plan to create a subsidiary for the men's World Cup and a report alleging a six-figure payment to a former employee with whom Infantino allegedly had a relationship.
  • Despite calls for his resignation from some European bodies, Infantino retains strong support from African and South American football confederations.

FIFA has issued a strong warning against what it describes as a "concerted and ongoing effort" to undermine the global football organization and its president, Gianni Infantino. The statement, released late Saturday, comes amid escalating tensions surrounding Infantino's leadership.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino strongly denies these allegations, and they are categorically untrue.

— FIFA spokesmanResponding to a report alleging a six-figure payment to a former employee.

The controversy has been fueled by a recently abandoned plan to establish a subsidiary to manage the men's World Cup and other events, which included offering a 20% stake to external investors. This proposal faced significant backlash from UEFA, Europe's governing football body, which even threatened a boycott of future World Cups, alongside opposition from several national associations and senior FIFA officials, leading to demands for Infantino's resignation.

Adding to the pressure, a report emerged on Friday detailing a six-figure payment made to a female employee who allegedly had a relationship with Infantino during his tenure as UEFA general secretary. While UEFA confirmed a departure payment and funding for her MBA, stating it was compliant with regulations at the time, FIFA vehemently denied the allegations, calling them "categorically untrue."

recent reporting has included unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims concerning FIFA and its President.

— FIFAStatement addressing recent scrutiny and allegations.

Despite these challenges and calls for his ouster, Infantino appears to maintain significant backing within FIFA's membership. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unanimously endorsed his leadership, and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has declared its opposition to any attempts to remove him without a vote involving all member associations. FIFA stated that those lacking the support of its member associations should not use "allegation, insinuation or misinformation" to achieve what they cannot through established democratic processes.

those who lacked the support of its member associations should not seek to achieve "allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA's established democratic processes."

— FIFACommentary on attempts to remove Infantino without member association support.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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