New Delhi [India], August 10 (ANI): UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued a joint statement on Monday, calling out the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, for “breaking trust through deception” as he tried to go ahead with his ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise’ and how the governing body failed to recognise the idea of selling a stake in the FIFA World Cup as a “profound failure of judgment.”
The FIFA Forward Enterprise, aiming at bringing outside participation/investment in FIFA-related competitions, had invited the wrath and words of concern from massive football bodies like UEFA (Europe), FA (England), CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean), among others, and was withdrawn following the backlash.
Soon, in another statement, Infantino and FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafstrom apologised for the errors and pledged that they would not be repeated, that a review would be done, and findings would be submitted to the FIFA Council during the next meeting.
Now, UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC have issued a joint statement, asserting that the sport is “the world’s greatest shared passion” and does not belong to any individual or institution, but rather the players, fans, clubs and the member associations forming FIFA.
“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 safeguarding its future. It is in that spirit, as confederations representing its members, that we speak collectively today,” said the statement.
The three governing bodies called the growth in sport during the last decade something real, but said that it was “never the work of one individual” and rather a “shared achievement”.
“It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to the game. The expanded tournaments, the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, the distribution of resources to associations. These were shared achievements, agreed together, delivered together,” said the statement.
The three federations said that all the confederations have already called for “responsible distribution of FIFA’s vast existing reserves to further strengthen investment in the development of Member Associations.”
“Nor is it about any Member Association losing the support it has earned, despite the fearmongering directed at our membership to suggest otherwise. Nor is it about revisiting the expansion of competitions, World Cup allocations, or any other decisions reached collectively. Those decisions were made together, and they must stand,” the statement added.
UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC said that their statement is about “something more fundamental”, the “integrity of the game and of those elected to lead it”.
Calling out Infantino, they said that football leadership is “not a possession” but a “duty of service” to the football family.
“Football leadership is not a possession. It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it,” said the statement.
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” continued the statement.
On the FIFA Forward Enterprise, the three governing bodies said that what football witnessed was a “failure of judgement”.
“A proposal advanced on a compressed timeline, without meaningful consultation, and pushed toward a deadline before 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,” the statement said.
“It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong. 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,” the statement continued.
The statement also said that while FIFA has committed to issuing a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, they have failed to recognise that a review after such a big failure should be done by a “fully independent third party, not by FIFA itself.
“FIFA failed to recognise that proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgment would require that such a review be conducted by a fully independent third party, not by FIFA itself, its staff, or by any stakeholder within football. The FIFA administration should play no role in conducting the review,” the statement said.
It also called for “as per previous correspondence, all relevant documents and records must be preserved in accordance with UEFA’s communication on preservation of documents.”
They also called on FIFA and President Infantino for “silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness.
“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. Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it,” the statement signed off. (ANI)
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