Infantino ditched proposals after widespread backlash
Uefa adds: ‘We cannot keep going on with secret schemes’
Gianni Infantino “has lost the confidence” of Uefa following his aborted project to sell off the World Cup to private investors, European football’s governing body has said.
Uefa castigated “secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game” and called for a “thorough and fundamental” review.
The Fifa president’s plan would have seen stakes sold in a company which would run the commercial and operational aspects of competitions including the men’s and women’s World Cups. The scheme was rejected by three continental confederations, with Europe’s governing body insisting its 55 member nations would boycott all Fifa events.
In a statement released early on Saturday, Infantino said: “The Fifa Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our Fifa Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed.” He added that “this proposal will not proceed” after it became clear the project had “created divisions”.
The UK’s prime minister Andy Burnham had called the plans “outrageous”, and said bringing them forward made it clear that Infantino was “the wrong man to lead the organisation”. The scheme also prompted high-level opposition to the plan within Fifa, with the embarrassing resignation of Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, describing it in a statement as “a project of one person”.
In a statement released later on Saturday morning, Uefa said: “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. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.
“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, Uefa will work with its associations and in close co-operation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again. That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
Speaking earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Uefa’s vice-president Laura McAllister said: “It’s not for me to speak for for Uefa at this moment in time, but I think trust in the president of Fifa has been badly shaken this week, without a doubt, and I think quite rightly, people will ask questions about whether he is the leader to take us forward as a global football organisation.
“Because we have to stick to the ethical principles of sustainability, fair play, and accessibility to football that really motivate us all. So I think those are the questions that all of us involved in football will be asking now.”
Asked if she could envision circumstances in which Uefa might find a challenger to him to stand against him in March’s Fifa election, she said: “I think all of the confederations would be considering options now for sure, and we’ll certainly be doing that in Uefa. But you know, it’s a democratic election. If people want to stand, they will, and there will be moves, I’m sure, to encourage people to stand. But I think it’s early days yet.” She later added: “Interestingly, I don’t think the sport of football is damaged by what’s happened this week. I think Fifa as an organisation, is, and I think the president is.”
After Football Australia and the Asian Football Confederation welcomed Fifa’s climbdown, the Swedish FA chairman Simon Astrom added: “We are still concerned about deficiencies in transparency and governance, and want to emphasise the importance of continued discussion and dialogue about how football should be governed and developed.”
Infantino said in his statement: “Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed. Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”
