Football bodies jointly criticize FIFA President
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF have issued a joint statement criticizing FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
In a statement jointly signed by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani, the organizations stressed that football does not belong to any single individual or institution, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.
“Football belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the member associations and all the institutions entrusted with protecting its future,” the statement said.
Referring to football’s growth over the past decade, the organizations said that progress had been achieved through the collective efforts of thousands of people who have dedicated their lives to the sport, stressing that “this is not about money.”
The statement also criticized Infantino’s leadership, arguing that leadership in football should not be treated as personal property or as a means of retaining power.
“Leadership is not about holding onto power or demanding that power be preserved. Leadership is an act of service to the football family that has placed its trust in those who lead it,” the statement said.
The organizations said trust in Infantino had been damaged, adding that when trust is broken through deception and an individual places himself above the collective body that granted him authority, the responsibility of leadership has been abandoned.
FIFA’s letter to member associations
The statement also addressed an official apology letter signed by Infantino and sent to FIFA’s 211 member football associations.
It rejected FIFA’s characterization of its mistakes as a “communication failure,” arguing instead that “what football witnessed was a failure of judgment and common sense.”
According to the statement, the letter was prepared without sufficient consultation with member associations and implemented within a short period. It argued that this was “not the result of simple oversight, but the product of a process designed to limit scrutiny and oversight.”
The three confederations also criticized FIFA for failing to acknowledge that its proposal was fundamentally flawed.
They said the attempt to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup was not merely a procedural mistake but represented “a fundamental breach of trust” with the institutions FIFA exists to serve, as well as a serious error of judgment.
FIFA has pledged to submit a comprehensive report on the matter to the FIFA Council. However, the statement argued that such a serious issue should be investigated by a completely independent third party, rather than FIFA itself, its employees or other football stakeholders.
“FIFA’s management should have no role in conducting this review,” the statement said, adding that all relevant documents and records should be preserved.
The statement also referred to a meeting Infantino held with senior FIFA executives in Rabat, Morocco, noting that only “certain selected officials” had been invited.
“This latest meeting further reinforces our concerns and demonstrates the continuation of the same pattern of behavior that brought us to this point,” it said.
The organizations accused Infantino of behaving more like a sole authority than a custodian of the sport.
“This is not the behavior of a leader acting as a custodian of the game; it is the behavior of someone who believes the game should be accountable to him,” the statement said.
Concluding with a call for football to be governed according to the principle of serving the game, the organizations said:
“These are not the qualities football wants to see in its leadership. That is why we have taken this position—not easily and not alone. We have acted together and out of our responsibility to the game we serve. Football’s strength has always come from its unity. We now call for that unity to be protected and for a model of leadership that serves football rather than seeking to control and dominate it.”
Photo: FIFA
