UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA leadership after investment plan — CBS News — Top

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA leadership after investment plan — CBS News — Top | AIPROPX

Successfully stopping Gianni Infantino\u0027s 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\u0027s decade-long presidency."No option should be off the table," said European soccer body UEFA, whose president Aleksander \u010ceferin has led the fight against Infantino in a seismic week for FIFA."The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA\u0027s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family."Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the\u00a0World Cup\u00a0with private investors but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday\u0027s announcement.Infantino was forced to scrap the plan early Saturday after his senior adviser, who sat on a White House panel, resigned and Asia\u0027s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, issued its blistering statement hours after FIFA announced it was withdrawing its private equity plan."We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game," UEFA said. "We must identify those responsible and hold them to account."It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again."Infantino\u0027s audacious bid fell apart after UEFA\u0027s 55-member nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions. North America\u0027s CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.There was also an internal revolt.Infantino\u0027s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned on Friday and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino\u0027s lack of openness in planning the sale over recent months and that the project must not continue."It is the project of one person," wrote Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA. "Not only must this project not go ahead \u2026 but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions."Infantino had proposed spinning off FIFA\u0027s commercial businesses \u2014 including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women \u2014 into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.The "anchor investor," described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm launched by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump\u0027s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.This tumultuous week in international soccer is at least the third time Infantino has rocked it with an ambitious plan many in the sport saw as reckless.But the fallout from FIFA\u0027s Kushner-backed plan is the first time UEFA has acted quickly to create momentum for removing the man who was its former long-time employee.In 2018, Infantino pushed a secretive offer of $25 billion from Japan\u0027s SoftBank to create new competitions that posed a long-term risk to continental events for clubs and national teams.In 2021, Infantino proposed playing World Cups every two years instead of four \u2014 an idea that also angered the International Olympic Committee, where he is an elected member.Both plans created big rifts in the sport and were eventually dropped by FIFA.Despite the turmoil, Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.The third time shapes to be different.Nov. 18 is the deadline for candidates to enter the next presidential contest, exactly four months ahead of the vote in Rabat, Morocco, where FIFA has its African headquarters.FIFA statutes allow Infantino one more four-year term in office. The failed spinoff venture seemed like a way to create a commissioner-like role for Infantino beyond 2031, likely paying much more than his current annual salary and a bonus deal of more than $6 million.It would take 106 votes to ensure a majority in a contested election. Continents surely do not vote uniformly en bloc, but most of Europe\u0027s 55, plus Asia\u0027s 46 and CONCACAF\u0027s 35 FIFA members would be a solid base.