UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC believe that FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s recent plan to sell an interest in the World Cup was a “fundamental breach of trust” with the institutions world soccer’s governing body serves.
In an “open letter to the football family” revealed on Monday, UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC also said that “when trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”
UEFA runs soccer in Europe, CONCACAF does the same for North, Central America and the Caribbean, while the AFC governs the sport in Asia.
The letter was co-signed by UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, AFC president Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and three general secretaries.
“Football is the world’s greatest shared passion. It belongs to no individual and no institution. It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the member associations and every institution entrusted with safeguarding its future,” the open letter said. “It is in that spirit, as confederations representing its members, that we speak collectively today.”
Infantino is facing a revolt after his failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors.
“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him,” the letter said. “These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve.”
UEFA previously issued a threat to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions despite the governing body abandoning and apologizing for its failed plan.
Norway’s soccer federation called for Infantino to step down, while the English Football Association has also withdrawn its support for Infantino’s re-election next March.
“Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honoured now,” the letter said. “For leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.”
Last Wednesday, FIFA said it had apologized for errors made over the failed plan but that senior staff at a crisis meeting in Morocco “reaffirmed their full support” for his presidency.
However, the nature of the meeting was also met with criticism.
“FIFA’s own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco,” the open letter said. “No FIFA Council members or Member Associations were invited to participate. Only the management committee, composed of FIFA-employed senior staff, was present.”
FIFA was also urged to go further than just acknowledging mistakes were made.
“It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment,” the letter said. “There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgment — not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve.”
In a statement Saturday, FIFA defended Infantino against what it called a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine his leadership of the organization.
That statement followed a report by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph raising questions about an exit package paid by UEFA to a female staffer who worked with Infantino when he was general secretary of European soccer’s ruling body.
UEFA confirmed that a “departure payment” was made to the employee and said it was “in line” with regulations at the time.
Infantino worked at UEFA for 16 years before being elected FIFA president.
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—Associated Press