All posts tagged: FIFA

FIFA members should decide Infantino’s future at 2027 election, says CAF president

FIFA members should decide Infantino’s future at 2027 election, says CAF president

Published by Sam Flores

Aug 12 : Under pressure FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s fate should be decided by the organisation’s 211 member associations at next March’s elections, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe said. Infantino, who is seeking re-election, has faced open revolt after three confederations – UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF – attacked his conduct and called for him to quit following his aborted bid to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. But Motsepe believes it should be up to all FIFA members to decide whether Infantino remains president at the organisation’s 77th Congress in Rabat, Morocco on March 18. “Elections are taking place next year. We should allow that process to continue and let the 211 members decide,” Motsepe told Sky News on Wednesday. “If there are candidates who want to stand against him, put up their names. That’s the right thing. “What I like to focus on is the unity, the cooperation. How do we continue to develop and grow football in the midst of the challenges we have? We must …

FIFA defends its President Infantino amid backlash

FIFA defends its President Infantino amid backlash

Published by Sam Flores

FIFA is defending its president, Gianni Infantino, against media allegations that an alleged lover received a six-figure severance payment. The football governing body has strongly criticised what it calls a concerted and ongoing effort to “undermine” FIFA and its president. Infantino is also facing mounting pressure over his role in a proposal to open up the World Cup to private investors. Camille Corcoran has the latest. Keywords for this article Source link

Infantino denies affair allegation, FIFA slams ‘concerted’ effort to weaken him

Infantino denies affair allegation, FIFA slams ‘concerted’ effort to weaken him

Published by Sam Flores

FIFA on Saturday warned against what ⁠it called a “concerted ​and ongoing effort” to undermine its leader, Gianni Infantino, saying attempts to challenge his leadership must follow the governing body’s statutes ​and democratic procedures. It came amid an increasingly bitter standoff over Infantino’s leadership following the collapse of his proposal to raise about $4.2 billion by selling a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments. Read moreFIFA scraps controversial private investment plan after backlash The statement was released Saturday, a day after a report by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph raising questions about an exit package paid by UEFA to a female staffer who worked with Infantino when he was general secretary of European football’s governing body. Infantino has categorically denied the allegations, according to the article. UEFA confirmed that a “departure payment” was made to the employee and said it was “in line” with regulations at the time. Infantino worked at UEFA for 16 years before being elected FIFA president. In the statement Saturday, FIFA accused Infantino’s critics of …

Infantino’s grip on FIFA weakened following investor plan controversy

Infantino’s grip on FIFA weakened following investor plan controversy

Published by Sam Flores

UEFA says it is considering legal action against FIFA president Gianni Infantino and others involved in the now-withdrawn plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to American private equity interests. Infantino shelved the plans after a threatened boycott of FIFA competitions by three of the six football confederations. And now there are calls for him to step down, with a number of candidates, including the Canadian Victor Montagliani, emerging to challenge him in a leadership battle. Keywords for this article Source link

FIFA must rebuild trust after scrapping World Cup investor proposal, says Boyce

FIFA must rebuild trust after scrapping World Cup investor proposal, says Boyce

Published by Sam Flores

Aug 2 : Former FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce said on Sunday world soccer’s governing body should focus on the interests of fans after President Gianni Infantino abandoned plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, calling the proposal “ludicrous”. FIFA had proposed raising up to $4.2 billion by selling a roughly 20 per cent stake in a new entity that would oversee FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. The proposal, unveiled on Tuesday, drew immediate backlash. European football’s governing body UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA events and accused the organisation of putting the sport’s “soul” up for sale. FIFA had argued that selling a minority stake in its commercial operations would generate billions of dollars to support soccer development worldwide and accused the media of mischaracterising the proposal. “There’s no way that this should be sold to investors,” Boyce told Reuters. “If you invest, you’re looking to make money out of that investment. FIFA is a non-profit organisation. To promote football throughout the world, they don’t need outside investors.” ‘REPAIR WORK’ …

Trump’s FIFA pal in trouble as plan to sell off World Cup collapses

Trump’s FIFA pal in trouble as plan to sell off World Cup collapses

Published by Sam Flores

By most objective standards, the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament — which concluded two weeks ago in New Jersey with Spain’s grueling 1-0 victory over Argentina — was a major success. Despite global anxiety over the collision between the world’s largest sporting event and Donald Trump’s “America First” regime, stadiums were mostly full across North America, fans and players from all sorts of large and small countries seemed to enjoy themselves (and tried to smuggle home large quantities of ranch dressing) and, of course, something like $15 billion flowed into FIFA’s coffers.  Just below the surface, however, the soccer world was seething with discontent. That erupted into all-out rebellion this week, which could finally bring down Gianni Infantino, the Swiss administrator who has served as FIFA chief executive for the last decade. Unpacking the byzantine history of alleged or actual corruption within FIFA and the numerous regional and national federations under its purview would be a dissertation-length project. But it’s definitely not wrong to say there’s a Trump angle, and that Infantino’s marriage of convenience …

UEFA, CONCACAF target Infantino after FIFA shelve World Cup private investment plan

UEFA, CONCACAF target Infantino after FIFA shelve World Cup private investment plan

Published by Sam Flores

INFANTINO “HAS FAILED” UEFA, though, said the plan showed that Infantino could not be trusted. “The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” read UEFA’s statement. UEFA said that the 56-year-old Swiss had broken promises he made when he successfully first sought election in 2016 – namely to be “transparent” and that FIFA’s money was “your (the member associations) money” and “not the money of the FIFA President”. “On both these promises, he has failed to deliver,” said UEFA. “The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent. “And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.” CONCACAF, which includes all three co-hosts of the recently concluded 2026 World Cup – the United States, Canada and Mexico – weighed in with its own damning assessment of Infantino’s actions. “This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern …

UEFA hails FIFA private equity reversal, calls for review: ‘No option should be off the table’

UEFA hails FIFA private equity reversal, calls for review: ‘No option should be off the table’

Published by Sam Flores

The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) on Saturday celebrated FIFA’s decision to not sell a portion of World Cup profits to private equity, after the group threatened to boycott the tournament if the investments went through. UEFA issued a statement welcoming the reversal but called for accountability for those in leadership promoting “secret schemes… Source link

European football body declares no confidence in FIFA’s Infantino after World Cup sell-off plan

European football body declares no confidence in FIFA’s Infantino after World Cup sell-off plan

Published by Sam Flores

Successfully stopping Gianni Infantino ’s FIFA plan to sell World Cup profits to private investors was the first half of a high-stakes game in global football politics. The second half kicked off Saturday with what seemed a clear aim of ending Infantino’s decade-long presidency. “No option should be off the table,” said European soccer body UEFA, whose president Aleksander Čeferin has led the fight against Infantino in a seismic week for FIFA. “The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.” Read moreUEFA accuses FIFA of ‘selling football’ with World Cup investment plan Later Saturday, the governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) called for accountability, saying: “A (World Cup) proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behavior. A full review of this leadership must …