UEFA maintains boycott threat as African confederation backs Infantino

Pressure built on FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday over his cancelled plan to bring private finance into football’s World Cup, with European governing body UEFA reiterating a threat to boycott tournaments.

The 56-year-old Swiss official has also been criticised by South American body CONMEBOL. But he did get backing from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Infantino received the “full support” of senior FIFA directors at an emergency meeting in Morocco on Wednesday but UEFA released a blunt statement in response.

UEFA’s initial threat issued last Thursday to boycott FIFA competitions is said to have been pivotal in forcing Infantino to shelve the private investment deal.

Calls for him to step down had grown since he abandoned it last Saturday.

FIFA said it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which it proposed would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

Although the abandonment of the proposal was one of UEFA’s conditions for it to withdraw its threat, it said that not all of its demands had been met.

“UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to their non participation in FIFA competitions,” read its statement

“First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.

“These conditions have not been met.”

Whilst UEFA welcomed the withdrawal of the plan last Saturday, it had slammed Infantino and his “shabby, backroom, opaque deal”.

Its tone had not changed in Thursday’s statement.

“UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds,” it said.

Several UEFA member associations have withdrawn support for Infantino’s bid to be re-elected to a fourth and final term in Rabat next March.

A prominent critic, Norwegian football chief Lise Klaveness, is likely to pour more fuel on the fire when she holds a press conference on Friday.

‘Abuse of power’ 

Infantino was also criticised by usually supportive South American governing body CONMEBOL.

“The Council also unanimously expresses its concern regarding the repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue or to the institutional mechanisms established to address situations of this nature,” read its statement.

CONMEBOL, though, said regarding Infantino’s future it would not countenance anything other than a straight contest — if a challenger comes forward by November 18 when nominations close — in Rabat.

There is a mechanism whereby an extraordinary FIFA congress can be called and a vote of no confidence in Infantino held.

North and Central American football’s governing body CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have both been critical of Infantino, but were yet to react to the latest developments.

CONCACAF — whose president Victor Montagliani is seen as a potential challenger — had called for “a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency”.

FIFPRO, the players union, piled into Infantino over the plan calling it “a profound abuse of presidential power”.

“FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) is gone,” it said in a statement.

“The abuse of power that produced it is not.”

Support did come Infantino’s way on Thursday, however, as CAF “unanimously reconfirmed its support” for the FIFA president in a statement released following a meeting of its members.

Several CAF members had already expressed their support for the Swiss official, who has been in power for 10 years. South Africa’s sports minister Gayton McKenzie had urged African football to resist what he called the “public lynching” of Infantino.

CONMEBOL said it was a shame the hugely successful staging of the World Cup — the first with 48 teams and spread over three countries — had had its thunder stolen by the events over the past week.

“The CONMEBOL Council calls for preserving the unity of the football family,” it said.