A day after FIFA put out a statement which called out ‘concerted efforts’ to malign their embattled president Gianni Infantino, a joint letter from European (UEFA), Asian (AFC) and North, Central and Caribbean (CONCACAF) confederations had squarely blamed Infantino for his attempt to sell stakes of the FIFA World Cup.
In the letter, the three confederations blamed Infantino for breaking trust and abandoning his duty to football.
“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 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. When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.
While UEFA welcomed FIFA’s move to abandon FIFA Forward Enterprise, it believed that the intention behind selling the stakes were not a mistake, but a breach of trust. “It (FIFA) 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 judgement – not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve, the letter added.
It also criticised FIFA’s recent meeting in Morocco with officials who support him, coming from South American and Asian countries. The African football confederation (CAF) rallied its support to Infantino. “This recent meeting, where a select number of members of the FIFA management committee – not the full committee – were summoned abroad, rather than leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA, its staff, only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment. It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him.
“FIFA's own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco. No FIFA Council members or Member Associations were invited to participate,” the letter went on to add.
The three bodies called for an independent body to review the proceedings behind the proposal to sell stakes. “FIFA has also committed to presenting a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, once again failing to recognise that proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgement 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 letter went on to add.
Why does African Confed support FIFA?
Despite the crisis deepening, the Confederation for African Football (CAF) has thrown its full support behind Infantino. During the meeting in Rabat, members of the CAF had expressed their full support and acknowledged that mistakes were made. "I personally support Gianni Infantino," CAF President Patrice Motsepe was quoted as saying to ESPN. "He's not just a good friend, he's a loyal friend. He's loyal to Africa. I come from a background where when people have been loyal to you, you never stab them in the back."
This endorsement is significant, considering 54 out of the total 211 FIFA members are in support of him. That count, second only to Europe’s 55, counts for more than a quarter of the total members.
This endorsement is also built on the back of reported infrastructural and financial support. Morocco – whose men’s team were semifinalists in 2022 and quarter finalists in 2026, have become a key partner of FIFA.
Rabat is home to FIFA's Africa regional office. The country has hosted Club World Cups, a women's U17 World Cup and will co-host the men's 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
In Egypt, Infantino has a close friend in influential administrator Hany Abo Rida, who has supported him since his election in 2016. The nation has benefitted from FIFA’s expanded investment strategy and expansion of competitions helping with commercial opportunities.
