Three of FIFA’s six confederations issued an open letter to the “football family” on Monday (August 10) attacking President Gianni Infantino’s conduct during the proposed sale of a stake in World Cup commercial rights and calling for leadership that works for the game. Keywords for this article Source link
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
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 …
FIFA President Gianni Infantino gets South American football’s backing while at Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration. Published On 8 Aug 20268 Aug 2026 FIFA president Gianni Infantino has received support from several leading South American football figures as he visited Colombia amid the crisis engulfing world football’s governing body. Infantino arrived early on Friday in the Colombian city of Cali to attend the inauguration ceremony of hard-right President Abelardo de la Espriella. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Photos released by the Colombian Football Federation show a smiling Infantino standing alongside South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) president Alejandro Dominguez and the president of the Colombian federation, Ramon Jesurun. The visit to Colombia comes as the head of world football has been embroiled in a storm following a much-criticised and ultimately abandoned plan to open the World Cup to private investment. The 56-year-old Italian-Swiss lawyer, who has been in office since 2016, declined to answer a question from an AFP news agency journalist about whether he considered FIFA’s woes to be over. Later, while …
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 …
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 …
GENEVA (AP) — 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 soccer 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.” 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 now take place.” Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion …
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was met with unprecedented backlash following his proposal for the structural reform of the World Cup. Under pressure, he announced that he was withdrawing his plan to sell part of the tournament to private investors. This proposal caused quite a stir internally and even led some members of his team to resign in protest. Emerse Faé’s contract as manager of the In Ivory Coast’s Elephants expires on August 1. The Ivorian Football Federation has announced that it will not be renewing his contract. He will therefore step down, having led the team to victory in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations and guided the Ivorians to a historic run at this summer’s World Cup. In Italy, the football world is mourning one of its legends: Franco Baresi, who died at the age of 66. Source link
After announcing plans earlier this week for FIFA to sell off a stake in the World Cup to private investors, the president of the global soccer governing body, Gianni Infantino, has announced he’s pulling those plans. “The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed. And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders,” Infantino said in a statement on Friday. “Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he continued. “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve. As a result, …
Gianni Infantino is rapidly losing support to remain as FIFA president, Sky News has learned, after European nations announced a World Cup boycott if he goes ahead with selling part of the tournament to private investors. Source link
