FIFA president receives backing amid European concerns
Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, has received support from senior leadership following a meeting in Morocco. This backing comes despite ongoing concerns from European football’s governing body, UEFA, regarding his leadership and previous proposals.
The support for Infantino was expressed after a meeting where senior executives were in attendance. However, UEFA has reiterated its stance that it has lost confidence in his presidency. This position was made clear in a statement, indicating that the recent announcement of support from some individuals employed by FIFA does not alter UEFA‘s view.
Lamin Kaba Bajo, the president of the Gambia Football Federation, praised Infantino‘s “courage” and expressed his willingness to offer support. Conversely, Jordan is one of the few countries that has publicly stated it will not vote for Infantino‘s re-election in March.
UEFA’s boycott threat and re-election challenges
UEFA has maintained its threat of European member associations boycotting future men’s and women’s World Cups. This threat initially arose in response to Infantino‘s failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have involved FIFA making stakes in commercial and event operations, including the World Cups and Club World Cups, available for private investment.
Despite Infantino‘s apology, UEFA has stated that the option of a boycott remains on the table. A spokesperson for UEFA indicated that conditions for non-participation in FIFA competitions included the withdrawal of proposals to sell off major competitions and assurances that such attempts to “disfigure the game” would not be made again. UEFA believes these conditions have not been met.
The global players’ union, FIFPro, described the FFE proposal as “not merely a governance failure” but a “profound abuse of presidential power.” FIFPro called for legally binding engagement with professional football’s stakeholders on decisions of major consequence, such as changes to the international match calendar, and voting rights on the FIFA Council.
Infantino is due to stand for re-election in March, which, if successful, would mark his final term leading FIFA. He had previously claimed to have more than 200 letters of support from the 211 member associations, though this number has reportedly decreased.
The English Football Association, Football Association of Wales, and the Serbian Football Federation, all members of UEFA, have withdrawn their support. Concacaf, the confederation of North, Central America, and the Caribbean, has also expressed its dissatisfaction with Infantino.
Confederation responses and future options
While UEFA has been vocal in its response to the scrapped FFE proposal, other confederations have also reacted. Concacaf issued a public statement after the proposal was aborted, though it did not explicitly state a loss of confidence in the FIFA president, unlike UEFA.
Conmebol, the South American confederation, stated it would not support any action or procedure that disregards FIFA‘s mechanisms before the presidential election. This indicates a different approach compared to UEFA‘s more confrontational stance.
UEFA has considered several options, including forcing an emergency meeting of the FIFA Council to hold Infantino accountable. However, securing the necessary 19 of 36 confederation and football association heads for such a meeting has proven challenging. Another option is a vote of no confidence, which would require a majority of FIFA‘s 211 member associations, specifically 106 votes, to pass the motion.
The possibility of a unity candidate standing against Infantino in the March election has also been discussed, with Concacaf president Victor Montagliani mentioned as a potential contender. Any delay in action could allow Infantino to strengthen his position, especially with FIFA expected to announce new funding to member associations by the end of the year. UEFA‘s stance will soon be tested as the FIFA Women’s U20s World Cup is set to begin in Poland on 5 September, with six European countries participating.
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Source: bbc.co.uk
