UEFA accuses FIFA and Infantino of using football ‘to enrich himself and his friends’

UEFA has launched its most ferocious attack yet on FIFA president Gianni Infantino, accusing him of trying to turn football into a “commodity” and using the sport “to enrich himself and his circle of friends” through a controversial plan to sell stakes in its biggest competitions to private investors.

In a sharply worded statement released on Wednesday, European football’s governing body claimed FIFA was seeking to place the commercial rights to major tournaments – led by the World Cup – into a new company and then offer shares in that company for sale, all under what UEFA described as the guise of “development”.

The proposal, outlined by Infantino in a letter to all 211 national associations, centres on creating this commercial entity and distributing large sums of money to member federations in return for their backing.

Under Infantino’s plan, each of the 211 national associations has been promised $40m, with an immediate advance payment of $20m on offer to any federation that signs up ahead of a deadline he has set for 19 September.

Infantino also warned the associations that rejecting the proposal would, according to his projections, reduce their collective revenues to just $2.7bn – a fall of about 75%. The tone of that message has been widely interpreted within the game as a form of financial pressure, and the Football Association of England, along with several other major federations, is understood to have expressed strong reservations.

UEFA hits back at ‘deadline’ and ‘extraordinary payment’

Responding to the letter and the deadline, UEFA issued a brief but scathing statement, accusing FIFA of attempting to coerce its members with promises of exceptional payments.

“We became aware today of the deadline imposed by FIFA on the associations to support its proposals or else they will lose the extraordinary payment. That alone says everything about this plan,” UEFA said.

After consultations “with all stakeholders in the game”, UEFA added that there was “broad and growing opposition” to what it called FIFA’s scheme.

“After our consultations with all stakeholders in the game, we can confirm there is widespread and increasing opposition to FIFA’s plan… FIFA cannot continue to use our sport to enrich itself and its friends,” the statement continued.

UEFA insisted that existing football bodies were capable of driving growth without resorting to the kind of privatisation outlined in Infantino’s proposal.

“We are capable of developing the game properly, and it is time to put the interests of the associations, clubs, competitions, players and fans first,” UEFA said.

European response to be coordinated

The escalating dispute between FIFA and UEFA has now reached a critical point, with Europe’s 55 member associations set to meet on Thursday for what is being billed as a decisive gathering to finalise a common stance.

That meeting will aim to coordinate a collective response from UEFA’s members to what they regard as Infantino’s project to privatise the World Cup and other flagship competitions through the sale of commercial rights to private-sector investors.

The confrontation marks a new peak in long-running tensions between the world governing body and its European counterpart over the direction of global football, who controls its most lucrative assets and how revenues are distributed across the game.