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UEFA loses confidence in FIFA President Infantino after project withdrawal
🇦🇷 Argentina /Sports

UEFA loses confidence in FIFA President Infantino after project withdrawal

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • UEFA stated it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, despite his withdrawal of a controversial plan to involve private investors in international football competitions.
  • Infantino's project, which aimed to create a company to manage commercial activities and events, faced widespread opposition and was criticized for being opaque and hastily conceived.
  • UEFA called the project's abandonment a victory for football but emphasized that rebuilding trust within FIFA is an ongoing task.

UEFA delivered a sharp rebuke to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, announcing it has lost confidence in him even after he withdrew a contentious proposal to bring private investors into international football.

After listening carefully to all points of view, it became clear that the project has created divisions, which no longer respond to the interest of the initial objective.

— Gianni InfantinoInfantino's statement acknowledging the withdrawal of his private investment plan.

Infantino's plan, revealed just days before, aimed to establish a new company, Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), to manage commercial activities and events, including the World Cup. However, the proposal was met with near-universal criticism and was described by UEFA as "meager, opaque, and hatched behind the scenes."

The proposal has been rejected. The task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun.

— UEFAUEFA's statement following the withdrawal of Infantino's project.

Despite Infantino acknowledging the project created "divisions" and no longer served its initial purpose, UEFA declared the withdrawal a "victory for all of football." The European governing body stressed that the "task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun."

If the jewels of football are sold to private investors, a part of this sport is also being sold, and above all its soul.

— Sepp BlatterFormer FIFA president commenting on the potential commercialization of football.

The UEFA, representing 55 European federations, had threatened to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the project proceeded. They viewed it as an attempt by Infantino to "sell a piece of the World Cup" to private investors, raising fears of excessive commercialization and conflicts of interest.

He did not keep those two promises.

— UEFAUEFA's accusation that Infantino failed to uphold promises of transparency and that FIFA's money belongs to member associations.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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