UEFA, Concacaf and AFC unite against FIFA after private investment plan row | OneFootball

UEFA, Concacaf and AFC have jointly rebuked FIFA’s leadership and Gianni Infantino after the withdrawal of a plan to open the game to private investors, insisting the sport belongs to no individual.

In an open letter on Monday, the three confederations criticised a lack of transparency and responsibility at the top of the sport and, according to Le Progres, addressed it to the wider football family.

They were not convinced by FIFA’s response last Wednesday, when the governing body apologised for the furore over a proposed commercial vehicle and voiced full support for Infantino after a crisis meeting in Rabat. The confederations called it a failure of judgement rather than communication, a fundamental breach of trust in the institutions FIFA exists to serve.

Seeking to reassure associations still aligned with Infantino and tempted by the promised windfall, they argued the dispute is not about money. They said they had already urged a responsible distribution of FIFA’s substantial reserves to strengthen investment in member federations’ development.

UEFA, which is threatening to boycott all FIFA tournaments, joined Concacaf and AFC in saying they do not intend to revisit competition expansion, World Cup-related allocations or other collectively agreed decisions. Those decisions, they added, should remain in place.

Their central point was integrity, both of the game and of those elected to run it. When trust is broken by deception and an individual puts themselves above the collective, they argued, the duty to serve the football family is abandoned.

Source: Le Progres

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