UEFA, AFC, and CONCACAF react to Infantino: 'This issue is not about money'

The presidents of UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and CONCACAF have jointly criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino's leadership and his proposed reforms. In a joint statement, Aleksander Čeferin (UEFA), Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (AFC), and Victor Montagliani (CONCACAF) asserted that football belongs to its stakeholders, including players, fans, clubs, and member federations, emphasizing that "this matter is not about money."

The statement highlighted the growth of football over the past decade, attributing it to the collective efforts of thousands dedicated to the sport. The leaders criticized Infantino's management style, stating, "Leadership in football is not a property. It is not about holding onto power or demanding power be held. Leadership is a service duty undertaken for the football family that trusts in it."

They expressed concern over a "breach of trust" resulting from Infantino's actions, arguing that when trust is broken through deception and an individual oversteps the collective structure that granted them authority, their mandate is forfeited. The statement specifically addressed a letter sent by Infantino to FIFA's 211 member federations, which they deemed an insufficient apology.

The confederation presidents rejected FIFA's characterization of its errors as a "communication failure," instead calling it a "failure of judgment and common sense." They criticized the rushed implementation of proposals without adequate consultation, suggesting it was designed to limit scrutiny. Furthermore, they argued that FIFA's failure to acknowledge the fundamental wrongness of its proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup constitutes a serious breach of trust and a grave error in judgment, demanding that any investigation be conducted by an independent third party, not by FIFA itself.