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UEFA has made clear that Gianni Infantino’s apology and FIFA’s acknowledgement of mistakes have not changed its position over the governing body’s failed World Cup investment proposal. A day after FIFA reaffirmed its backing for Infantino following a crisis meeting in Morocco, European football’s governing body insisted the conditions it had set for avoiding a boycott of FIFA competitions have still not been met.
UEFA says its position remains unchanged?
FIFA emerged from Wednesday’s meeting in Rabat by admitting that “mistakes were made” in the handling of the now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal and confirmed that members of its senior leadership had “reaffirmed their full support” for Infantino’s presidency.However, UEFA responded on Thursday by making it clear that neither the apology nor the public backing for Infantino had altered its stance.In a statement shared with ESPN and The Athletic, UEFA said:“UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non participation in FIFA competitions.”The governing body reiterated that two conditions had been established after FIFA abandoned its proposal to sell minority stakes in the World Cup and other major competitions to private investors.“First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.”UEFA concluded that those requirements have not yet been satisfied.“These conditions have not been met.”
Confidence in Infantino still not restored
UEFA also underlined that the issue extends beyond the withdrawal of the FFE proposal itself.The organisation pointed back to the statement it released last weekend, when it declared that it had “lost confidence” in Infantino’s leadership following the controversy.Reaffirming that position on Thursday, UEFA said:“In addition, UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds.”The governing body also dismissed the significance of FIFA’s announcement that members of its management board had backed the FIFA president after the Rabat meeting.“Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the FIFA President (and whose careers depend on his favor) agree with him changes nothing.”
Boycott threat remains on the table
The latest statement means UEFA has not withdrawn its earlier warning that its member associations could refuse to participate in FIFA competitions should the dispute continue unresolved.That position carries considerable weight given UEFA’s influence within world football. European nations have won five of the last six men’s FIFA World Cups, while UEFA will also provide 11 of the 32 qualified teams at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.Although FIFA has now abandoned the FFE proposal, UEFA’s latest comments indicate that simply withdrawing the plan is not enough to restore confidence without further guarantees about the future governance of the organisation.
FIFA apologised but defended its process
Following Wednesday’s crisis meeting in Morocco, FIFA acknowledged that mistakes had been made during the development and communication of the FFE proposal.The governing body admitted that the process “should have been handled differently” so that the FIFA Council and member associations did not feel excluded, while confirming that a separate letter signed by Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafström had apologised for those errors and pledged they would not happen again.At the same time, FIFA maintained that “everything that was done was done in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework.”For UEFA, however, the apology has not resolved the wider concerns surrounding Infantino’s leadership. With the governing body continuing to insist that its original conditions remain unmet, the threat of a boycott of FIFA competitions remains firmly on the table despite FIFA’s attempts to draw a line under the failed investment plan.
