Disappointed with FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s performance as a “custodian of the game,” three powerful confederations called on him to resign from his position on Monday.
UEFA (Europe), Concacaf (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) and the AFC (Asia) joined together to release an open letter signed by the president and general secretary of each organization.
Infantino has been under fire since last month’s failed plan to launch the FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would have sold part of the World Cup’s commercial rights to private investors to raise billions of dollars.
He apparently caused further damage by holding a crisis meeting last week in Morocco with select members of FIFA’s management team.
“This recent meeting, where a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee — not the full Committee — were summoned abroad, rather than leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA, its staff, only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment,” reads the letter from UEFA, Concacaf and AFC.
“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him. There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness.
“These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve.”
Infantino, 56, is up for re-election in 2027 and is seeking another four-year term. He has held the position since 2016 after serving as the UEFA Secretary General from 2009-16.
U.S. Soccer made its first public comments on the swirling controversy on Monday, saying it stands united with fellow member associations and other regional governing bodies.
“U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer, CFU (Caribbean Football Union) and UNCAF (Central American Football Union) stand together, along with our colleagues around the world, in calling for meaningful change that strengthens FIFA’s governance, transparency and accountability,” U.S. Soccer posted on X.
Infantino has received support from the Argentine Football Association and the Mexican Football Federation.
–Field Level Media
