UEFA Declares No Confidence in Infantino
After Gianni Infantino withdrew his controversial proposal on private investors, UEFA and CONCACAF call for a review of FIFA's leadership, with elections on the horizon.
After Gianni Infantino withdrew his controversial proposal on private investors, UEFA and CONCACAF call for a review of FIFA's leadership, with elections on the horizon.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing the most serious crisis since he took the helm of world football's governing body in 2016. After a turbulent week in which he was forced to withdraw a plan to set up a $20 billion (around €18.4 billion) company to manage the World Cup, the European football governing body (UEFA) announced that the current FIFA leadership no longer has their confidence.
"No option should be ruled out," UEFA said on Saturday, adding that "the current FIFA leadership has lost the confidence not only of UEFA but also of many other members of the football family." They stressed that they cannot continue with "secret schemes in accelerated timelines, cooked up by faceless individuals and dubious benefits for the game," as reported by Zimbabwe Mail.
The crisis erupted on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, when FIFA announced a plan to create a subsidiary that would house commercial operations, including the World Cups, with 20% of the stake to be sold to private investors. The "anchor investor" was to be a New York investment firm owned by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The reaction was swift. By Thursday, July 30, all 55 UEFA member associations had agreed to boycott the World Cup and all FIFA competitions. They were joined by the Asian Football Confederation (46 members) and CONCACAF (35 members), creating a bloc that could easily secure the 106 votes needed for a majority in elections.
"A proposal of this magnitude does not reach this stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first," CONCACAF said on Saturday, August 2, calling for "a complete review of this leadership." The President of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, stressed that "the future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue, and respect for the established governance structures of our game."
The pressure was not only external. On Friday, July 31, Infantino's senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker, resigned and called on other senior FIFA officials to speak out. "I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup," Cordeiro said.
Shortly after, FIFA's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour told the Associated Press that FIFA staff had been misled by Infantino's lack of transparency. "This is a one-man project. Not only should this project not continue... but now is the time for football's political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions," said Lamour, a longtime Infantino associate.
Infantino withdrew the plan early Saturday, August 1, stating: "After carefully listening to all opinions, it became clear that the project created divisions of such a nature that, regardless of the level of support, they are no longer in the interest of the goal originally set."
However, the withdrawal of the plan did not calm passions. According to Le Figaro, citing the British Telegraph, UEFA sent a formal letter on Saturday to Infantino, potential investors, and JP Morgan bank, informing them that it is "actively considering initiating legal proceedings, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints."
The letter explicitly demands the preservation of all evidence. "UEFA formally requests that any destruction, removal, alteration, concealment, or loss of relevant materials after receipt of this notice may constitute destruction of evidence," the statement, as reported by Le Figaro, reads. UEFA also stated that it "reserves all rights to seek appropriate remedies in proceedings for any destruction or loss of material evidence."
This is not the first time Infantino has caused upheaval in the football world. In 2018, he pushed a secret $25 billion bid from Japan's SoftBank for new competitions, and in 2021, he advocated for holding World Cups every two years. Both plans were ultimately scrapped, but until now, Infantino has managed to hold onto his position, in 2019 and 2023, he was re-elected unopposed.
This time, things are different. The deadline for candidates to register for the FIFA presidential election expires on November 18, 2026, with the vote to be held in March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco. FIFA's statutes allow Infantino one more four-year term, but it seems the continental confederations are no longer willing to grant him that.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, who led the rebellion, had earlier told Goal.com that "after a certain period, every organization needs fresh blood." And while the Qatari Football Association offered support to Infantino on Saturday, messages from Europe, Asia, and North America clearly suggest that the era of Gianni Infantino at the helm of world football is coming to an end.
