European football governing body UEFA says it could still press ahead with a boycott of FIFA competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, despite FIFA abandoning its controversial proposal to sell stakes in its major tournaments to private investors.
The latest development comes after the English Football Association (FA) formally withdrew its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, deepening the growing divide between European football authorities and the world governing body.
UEFA insists that FIFA has failed to meet the conditions it set following the collapse of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) investment plan, which would have opened the door for private investment in flagship competitions such as the men’s and women’s World Cups.
In a strongly worded statement, UEFA said FIFA had only met one of its two key demands by withdrawing the proposal.
It stressed that FIFA must also guarantee that similar attempts to commercialise the sport would never be pursued again.
“These conditions have not been met,” UEFA said, adding that it still has no confidence in Infantino’s leadership.
The European governing body described the abandoned proposal as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal” and dismissed FIFA’s explanation that mistakes had merely been made in handling the process.
FIFA acknowledged during an executive meeting in Rabat, Morocco, that errors had occurred in the way the proposal was developed and communicated.
The organisation said it was never its intention for FIFA Council members or national associations to feel excluded and admitted the process should have been handled differently.
However, UEFA said the apology did little to address its concerns.
“Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the FIFA president agree with him changes nothing,” UEFA stated, arguing that the internal meeting did not amount to genuine accountability.
The controversy centres on a proposal under which member associations would reportedly receive $40 million if they backed private investment in FIFA’s commercial competitions through the FFE subsidiary.
Although the proposal has now been withdrawn, UEFA believes important questions remain unanswered, including who developed the plan, whether a competitive bidding process was followed and whether anyone stood to benefit personally.
While Europe has hardened its stance, several football confederations and national associations have rallied behind Infantino.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) reaffirmed its unanimous support for the FIFA president, thanking him for his commitment to developing football across Africa.
South America’s governing body, CONMEBOL, also backed Infantino, while the football federations of Mexico and Argentina issued statements expressing confidence in FIFA’s leadership and institutional processes.
Only Jordan has publicly announced it will not support Infantino’s re-election at FIFA’s presidential election scheduled for March next year.
UEFA is now weighing several options to increase pressure on FIFA.
Among them is seeking an extraordinary FIFA Congress to trigger a vote of no confidence against Infantino, although such a move would require support from a majority of FIFA’s 211 member associations.
Another option is to back a rival candidate in next year’s presidential election, with Victor Montagliani emerging as a possible challenger.
However, if those efforts fail, UEFA could resort to its strongest weapon—a boycott of FIFA competitions.
The threat could be tested as early as September when the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup begins in Poland, with six European nations, including England, scheduled to participate.
Within UEFA, officials reportedly believe Infantino is attempting to avoid taking personal responsibility by presenting the controversy as a collective failure rather than accepting individual accountability.
Meanwhile, supporters of the FIFA president argue that criticism from Europe overlooks the broad backing he continues to enjoy across other football confederations.
With the FIFA presidential election approaching, the standoff has exposed deep divisions within world football and raised fresh uncertainty over the unity of the global game if relations between UEFA and FIFA continue to deteriorate.
SOURCE: BBC