FIFA president Gianni Infantino came under renewed fire on Monday as a joint letter from three major confederations—UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC—declared that football “belongs to no individual.” This latest development signals that Infantino’s critics remain unbowed despite recent attempts by the governing body to stabilize the situation.
Infantino has faced scathing criticism since launching, and subsequently withdrawing within days, a controversial plan to introduce private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. On Saturday, FIFA hit back at what it characterized as “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” the governing body and its president, but the Monday letter from the three confederations suggests the internal friction is far from resolved.
“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding—or demanding—power to be held,” the letter stated. The signatories emphasized that “when trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”
The three confederations have been vocal in their condemnation of the private investment plan. UEFA’s threat to boycott World Cups if the deal proceeded—a move that would have theoretically deprived the tournament of teams including reigning men’s champions Spain and 2026 semi-finalists France and England—proved pivotal in Infantino’s decision to withdraw the proposal.
While the 56-year-old Swiss president, who has been in office for 10 years, retains the backing of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and largely the support of South American body CONMEBOL, his position remains precarious. With the FIFA presidential election scheduled for next March in Rabat, candidates must declare their intentions by November 18. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is currently viewed as a potential challenger.
Regarding the failed investment proposal, the confederations noted, “FIFA’s recent letter to its Vice-Presidents and 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process.” However, they argued that FIFA’s framing of the issue as a “failure of communication” ignores the reality that the football community witnessed a fundamental “failure of judgment.”
The letter also addressed a recent emergency meeting Infantino held in Morocco, where he received the “full support” of senior FIFA directors. The confederations dismissed this gathering as meaningless, stating, “This recent meeting, where a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee—not the full Committee—were summoned abroad, rather than leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA, its staff, only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment.”
They further criticized the president’s approach, asserting, “It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him.” While Infantino has recently basked in the success of the 48-team World Cup, the confederations were quick to clarify that this progress was not the work of one person.
“The growth over the past decade has been real,” they acknowledged. “But that progress was never the work of one individual. It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to the game. The expanded tournaments, the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, the distribution of resources to associations. These were shared achievements, agreed together, delivered together.”
The confederations concluded their letter by claiming that under Infantino’s leadership, “there is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness.” They added, “That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve. Football’s strength has always been its unity.”
Although the proposal has been dead in the water for over a week now — UEFA had termed it “a shabby, opaque, backroom deal” — the confederations harangued him for a lack of judgment.
Infantino had been basking in the afterglow of a hugely successful World Cup — the largest ever involving 48 teams.
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