FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently pushed forward a plan to sell off partial commercial rights for tournaments like the World Cup, which triggered widespread criticism and doubts. Under mounting pressure from all sides, Infantino has publicly apologized and announced the withdrawal of the proposal.
But UEFA isn’t buying the apology. According to a BBC report on August 6, UEFA issued a statement in response to FIFA’s latest remarks, saying that Infantino’s apology and the justifications from FIFA officials “change nothing” and that the conditions for lifting the boycott of FIFA events have not been met.
The statement read: “UEFA’s member associations have clearly spelled out the conditions for lifting the boycott. First, the proposal to sell off major tournaments must be withdrawn; second, there must be guarantees that such attempts to undermine football will not happen again. These conditions have not been satisfied.”
UEFA further stated that Infantino’s apology and FIFA officials’ defenses “change nothing,” adding, “UEFA was very clear in its statement last Saturday that it has lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership, and that position remains unchanged.”
Additionally, the English Football Association has already written to FIFA, withdrawing its support for Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president next year.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (IC photo)
Infantino had earlier planned to set up a commercial subsidiary backed by private capital, which would take over the commercial rights of FIFA’s core events like the World Cup — a move that drew fierce opposition across the football world. UEFA warned that if the plan went ahead, it would not rule out boycotting FIFA events, including the World Cup. Infantino later announced the termination of the plan.
On August 5, FIFA held a meeting in Morocco, acknowledging it had “made a mistake” in the plan, but FIFA officials reiterated their “full support for Infantino.”
Earlier reports suggested that UEFA was considering removing Infantino through a vote of no confidence and was already looking for candidates to replace him as FIFA president. However, the BBC pointed out that the idea of ousting Infantino may not gather enough support.
Infantino, now 56, was elected FIFA president in 2016. He ran unopposed for re-election in both 2019 and 2023. The next FIFA presidential election is scheduled for March next year in Rabat, Morocco.
