FIFA president Gianni Infantino has lost the “confidence” of European football’s governing body after his plan to allow private investment in the World Cup was withdrawn following a global backlash.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” read the statement.
UEFA had been at the forefront of the opposition to FIFA’s plan, which had envisaged raising up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a planned commercial subsidiary to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.
While UEFA welcomed the withdrawal of a proposal unanimously rejected by itself and also by other confederations “whose job it is to protect football,” it did not hold back in its criticism of Infantino.
The statement said the 56-year-old Swiss had broken promises he had made when he sought to be elected in 2016 — namely to be “transparent” and that FIFA’s money was “your (the member associations) money and “not the money of the FIFA President.”
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver,” said UEFA.
“The shabby, back-room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent.
“And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.”
AFP
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