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Total split: UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF issue statement against Infantino
Political earthquake in world football. The three most influential confederations on the planet —UEFA, AFC and Concacaf— have published a heartbreaking open letter directly accusing Gianni Infantino of breaking the trust of the collective and placing himself above the beautiful game.
The trigger for the conflict was the body’s attempt to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup. According to the statement, this proposal was rushed through behind the federations’ backs to avoid any kind of scrutiny or debate.
The confederations categorically reject FIFA’s explanation, which tried to justify the controversial move as a simple “communication error”. For the signatories, it is a serious lapse in judgment and a direct deception of the collective.
Among the irregularities highlighted is a secret meeting in Morocco attended only by direct FIFA employees, excluding the elected representatives of the Council. As a result, the three organizations are demanding an external and independent investigation.
They have also requested the preservation of all documents and records related to the case. Tensions have now reached their highest point, leaving the governance of global football in an unprecedented crisis.
THE LETTER FROM UEFA, AFC AND CONCACAF
Dear football family:
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 protecting its future.
It is in that spirit, as confederations representing our members, that we speak collectively today.
The growth of the last decade has been real. But that progress was never the work of one individual. It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to this sport.
The expansion of tournaments, the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, the distribution of resources to the associations. These were shared achievements, agreed together and delivered together.
This is not about money. The Confederations have already requested the responsible distribution of FIFA’s vast existing reserves to further strengthen investment in the development of the Member Associations.
Nor is this about any Member Association losing the support it has earned, despite fearmongering campaigns directed at our federations suggesting otherwise. Nor is it about revisiting the expansion of competitions, the allocation of World Cup places, or any other decision reached collectively. Those decisions were taken jointly and must remain in place.
This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game and the integrity of those elected to lead it.
Leadership in football is not property. It is not about holding —or demanding— power. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it.
When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.
FIFA’s recent letter to its Vice Presidents and the 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process. It treats this as a communication failure, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment. A proposal presented on a compressed timeline, without meaningful consultation, and pushed toward a deadline before the Member Associations could properly review its terms is not the product of an oversight: it is the product of a design intended to limit scrutiny.
It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently flawed. There still has been no recognition that attempting to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup was a profound lapse in judgment, not merely a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve.
FIFA has also committed to presenting a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, again failing to recognize that proper governance in the face of such a profound lapse in judgment would require that such a review be carried out by a fully independent third party, and not by FIFA itself, its staff, or any actor within football. FIFA administration should have no role in conducting this review.
According to previous correspondence, all relevant documents and records must be preserved in accordance with UEFA’s communication on document preservation.
FIFA’s own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco. No members of the FIFA Council or Member Associations were invited to participate. Only the management committee was present, made up of senior executives employed by FIFA.
This recent meeting, in which a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee —not the Committee as a whole— was convened abroad, instead of leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA, its staff, only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the same pattern of conduct that has brought us to this moment. It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of someone who believes the game should answer to him.
There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be transparency.
These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. That is why we have taken this stand: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the sport we serve.
Football’s strength has always been its unity. We ask that this unity be honored now, by leadership that serves football rather than seeks to command it.
Sincerely,
- SALMAN BIN IBRAHIM AL KHALIFA – AFC President
- VICTOR MONTAGLIANI – Concacaf President
- ALEKSANDER ČEFERIN – UEFA President
- DATUK SERI WINDSOR JOHN – AFC General Secretary
- PHILIPPE MOGGIO – Concacaf General Secretary
- THEODORE THEODORIDIS – UEFA General Secretary
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in here.
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