Miami (AFP) – North and Central American football’s governing body CONCACAF on Saturday called for a “comprehensive reckoning with” Gianni Infantino’s leadership of FIFA after his aborted plan to allow private investment in the World Cup.
“This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour,” CONCACAF said in a statement. “A comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative.”
Related news
Last week, world governing body FIFA had announced plans to create a commercial subsidiary which would run its biggest events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup. This body would be open to minority private investment, under a plan which Infantino said would “turbocharge the development of the game globally” by raising up to $4.2 billion.
On Friday, facing a fierce global backlash, Infantino pulled the plug on the plan. CONCACAF, which includes all three co-hosts of the recently concluded 2026 World Cup — the United States, Canada, and Mexico — as well as Caribbean associations, on Saturday welcomed the decision to scrap the divisive proposal.
It joined European organization UEFA in criticizing Infantino’s actions and expressing doubt over his suitability to continue in the role. “This concern is not CONCACAF’s alone. It is shared across many confederations, Member Associations and those who serve and love the game,” said the statement.
In defending his initial proposal, Infantino had said that it could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.
But the CONCACAF statement noted that FIFA already has “vast reserves,” and said that its members would push for those finances to be disbursed “for football development across our region, without compromising our shared future.” Infantino’s plan had “advanced outside every established governance framework, without transparency, consultation or due process,” it said. “A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first.”
© 2024 AFP
