UEFA, Concacaf, AFC Accuse FIFA of 'Deception'
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- UEFA, Concacaf, and the AFC issued a joint "open letter to the football family" accusing FIFA president Gianni Infantino of "deception" and a "fundamental breach of trust" over plans to sell a stake in the World Cup, saying he acted as someone who "believes the game is answerable to him."
- The three confederations have held initial talks about organizing their own competitions, with UEFA's prior threat of a FIFA boycott already on the table, to ensure players under their jurisdictions still have meaningful opportunities to compete.
- The confederations want to give Infantino the chance to resign with dignity without seeking re-election in March, while insulating their own tournaments and governance from the unfolding crisis at FIFA.
- Infantino had apologized for his proposal to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would sell roughly 20% of the entity to private investors, but the joint letter said his apology failed to acknowledge that the plan itself was "inherently wrong."
- The letter urged FIFA to commission a fully independent third-party review of the FFE scheme, arguing the compressed timeline was "a design intended to limit scrutiny" and that the FIFA administration "should play no role" in the review.
- U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer, CFU, and UNCAF — all Concacaf members — issued a separate statement backing the call for "meaningful change that strengthens FIFA's governance, transparency and accountability," widening the breach beyond Europe's traditional bloc.
Why it matters: Three of FIFA's six continental confederations — covering Europe, the Americas, and Asia — are now publicly demanding Infantino resign before his March re-election and are already discussing rival tournaments. That's not routine dissent; it's a structural break that could split the global calendar and undermine FIFA's commercial authority over the World Cup if it holds.
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