UEFA announced Saturday that it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and is considering a no-confidence motion [1, 2, 3].
The move threatens the stability of global football governance as the 55 UEFA member associations are said to back the potential motion [1].
The dispute follows Infantino's decision to scrap the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, which would have sold a stake in World Cup commercial rights. UEFA described the abandoned plan as "shabby and opaque" and said that football should not be for sale [4, 2].
Reports on the scale of the proposed sale vary. One source cited a £15 billion plot [4], while another reported a $20 billion subsidiary [3]. The plan reportedly involved selling a 20 percent ownership share to private equity [3].
Infantino announced the reversal of the plan on Tuesday. UEFA responded on Aug. 1, stating that "UEFA has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino" [1, 3]. The governing body said that "no option should be off the table" regarding the leadership crisis [2].
UEFA issued the statements from its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland [1]. The organization's leadership believes the lack of transparency in the commercial rights process undermines the integrity of the sport [4].
“"UEFA has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino."”
The alignment of all 55 UEFA member associations against the FIFA president signals a historic rupture between the world's most powerful regional confederation and the global governing body. By framing the commercial rights dispute as a moral issue regarding the 'sale' of the game, UEFA is positioning itself as the protector of football's traditional structure against private-equity influence.
