UEFA Loses Confidence in FIFA President Infantino Over World Cup Deal Plan

UEFA declared it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, stating that "no option should be off the table" as it seeks a full review of his now-abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. Infantino was compelled to abandon the proposal early Saturday after his senior adviser resigned and Asia's soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.

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No option should be off the table

Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to manage the World Cup with private investors, but the plan faced growing backlash since its announcement on Tuesday. UEFA issued a strong statement on Saturday, demanding accountability: "We must identify those responsible and hold them to account." The governing body of European soccer, led by Aleksander Čeferin, released its scathing statement hours after FIFA announced it was withdrawing the private equity plan.

"We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game," UEFA said. "It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again."

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We must identify those responsible and hold them to account

UEFA's 55 member nations had agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions over Infantino's plan on Thursday. CONCACAF (North America) and the Asian Football Confederation also voiced their opposition. Infantino's senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker, resigned Friday, urging other senior FIFA staff to speak out.

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We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game

FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour also issued a statement to the Associated Press, claiming FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino's lack of transparency in planning the sale and that the project should not proceed. Infantino's proposal involved spinning off FIFA's commercial businesses, including men's and women's World Cups and Club World Cups, into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% ownership by private investors. The "anchor investor" was identified as a New York-based investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner.

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I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup