The battle over FIFA’s controversial plan to sell a stake linked to the commercial value of the World Cup has escalated into a major governance crisis. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf have jointly accused FIFA leadership of breaking the trust of the football community and called for an independent review of the entire episode.
The three confederations issued a strongly worded open letter on Monday, taking aim at the way FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his administration handled the proposal. They rejected FIFA’s explanation that the controversy was simply a communication failure and argued that the episode reflected a much deeper problem with how decisions are being made at the top of world football.
“This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it,” the three confederations said.
They also questioned FIFA’s decision to review the episode internally, insisting that any investigation must be carried out by a fully independent third party.
The intervention comes after FIFA abandoned the controversial proposal, but the withdrawal has clearly not ended the dispute. Instead, the issue has now turned into an open challenge to Infantino’s leadership and FIFA’s governance structure.
THE PROPOSAL THAT SPARKED THE ROW
The controversy began with FIFA’s plan to create a new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise, and sell a minority stake to outside investors.
The proposal was pushed through a compressed process, with FIFA member associations given limited time to consider the details. UEFA, AFC and Concacaf have now argued that the process was designed in a way that restricted proper scrutiny.
The three confederations were particularly critical of FIFA’s attempt to explain the controversy as a communication problem.
“FIFA’s recent letter … acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process. It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment,” they said.
They also made clear that their objection was not about FIFA’s finances or the distribution of resources.
“This is not about money,” the letter said, pointing out that the confederations had already asked FIFA to use its existing reserves to increase investment in football development.
Instead, their concern is about who gets to make major decisions involving the game’s most valuable property and how those decisions are taken.
FIFA eventually dropped the proposal, but the confederations believe that withdrawing it is not enough to close the matter.
‘A FUNDAMENTAL BREACH OF TRUST’
The strongest criticism in the letter was reserved for the governance process surrounding the proposal.
UEFA, AFC and Concacaf pointed to a meeting in Morocco where, according to their account, only one elected FIFA official was present. No FIFA Council members or member associations were invited, while only a select group from FIFA’s management committee attended.
“This recent meeting … only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment,” they wrote.
The confederations described the attempt to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup as a “profound failure of judgment” and a “fundamental breach of trust” with the institutions FIFA is supposed to serve.
They have demanded that all relevant documents and records be preserved and that FIFA’s administration have no role in the review.
“There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness,” the letter said.
But the pressure on Infantino is no longer coming only through the World Cup stake controversy. FIFA itself also pushed back against what it described as a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine the president, insisting that Infantino continues to have the mandate of FIFA’s 211 member associations.
That response came amid growing scrutiny over Infantino’s time at UEFA, including reports concerning a severance payment made to a former female staff member. UEFA confirmed that a departure payment had been made and said it complied with the rules in place at the time, while noting that those regulations have since been tightened. Infantino has strongly denied allegations about the nature of the relationship.
The political picture, however, is far from one-sided. While UEFA has been the most vocal critic, Infantino continues to enjoy strong support from CONMEBOL and the Confederation of African Football, which has unanimously backed him. Mexico has also broken with Concacaf to support the FIFA president, while Argentina is among the national associations backing him.
That leaves Infantino facing a very public political battle ahead of the March 2027 FIFA presidential election. UEFA, AFC and Concacaf have now made their position clear, while FIFA insists that any challenge to the presidency must follow its statutes and democratic processes.
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