Fifa president faces questions over his 2027 re-election prospects
\n Kigali, Rwanda
\nFifa president Gianni Infantino failed to calm the stormy waters surrounding his position despite on Saturday scrapping a plan to allow private investment in the World Cup.
\nEuropean football\u2019s governing body Uefa had led the opposition to the plan \u2014 saying they would boycott all Fifa competitions \u2014 and while welcoming the withdrawal of the proposal said Infantino had lost their and other football family members \u201cconfidence\u201d with his \u201cshabby, back room, opaque deal\u201d.
\nTheir response came hours after Infantino, whose previous smooth path to unopposed re-election for a final term next year is being openly questioned, had issued a statement announcing the humiliating climb down after a furious backlash since the plan was first revealed on Tuesday.
\n\u201cOur purpose has always been \u2014 and will always be \u2014 to unite and improve,\u201d Infantino said in a statement.
\n\u201cAs a result, this proposal will not proceed.\u201d
\nFifa , world football\u2019s governing body, had floated the plan on Tuesday, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial subsidiary it proposed to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.
\nIt said that, if approved, the project could provide each of Fifa\u2019s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.
\nUefa did not mince its words in holding Infantino to account for the debacle less than a fortnight after he basked in the afterglow of a highly successful World Cup \u2014 the first with 48 teams and hosted in three countries.
\n\u201cThe current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa\u2019s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,\u201d read the statement.
\nUefa said the 56-year-old Swiss had broken promises he made when he successfully first sought election in 2016 \u2014 namely to be \u201ctransparent\u201d and that Fifa\u2019s money was \u201cyour (the member associations) money\u201d and \u201cnot the money of the Fifa President.\u201d
\n\u201cOn both these promises, he has failed to deliver,\u201d said Uefa .
\n\u201cThe shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent.
\n\u201cAnd with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations\u2019 money for the benefit of the game.\u201d
\nThe Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which represents 47 member nations, had used less forthright language when it too welcomed the plan\u2019s withdrawal.
\nAny initiative that may impact global football should be \u201cpresented and discussed with the Confederations, the Fifa Council, Member Associations (MAs) and other stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner,\u201d the Kuala Lumpur-based body said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u2018Shared interest\u2019
\nThose two powerful bodies had been joined by the North American and Caribbean federation (CONCACAF) \u2014 which includes the three World Cup co-hosts, the US, Canada and Mexico \u2014 in condemning the move.
\nSouth American confederation CONMEBOL, whose president Alejandro Dominguez is regarded as a close ally of Infantino, demanded further information on the \u201cscope, structure, governance and potential effects\u201d of the project.
\nThe African Football Confederation (CAF) had urged their members to review the plan but the planned meeting next week over the proposal is now superfluous.
\nPressure had mounted on Infantino on Friday with the resignation of senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, who called the idea \u201ca bad deal for Fifa\u2019s member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game\u201d.
\nIn the statement announcing the plan was dead, Infantino said the project was conceived as a means of strengthening member associations, and that it would only have gone ahead if a majority supported it.
\n\u201cHaving 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,\u201d he said.
\nThe beleaguered Infantino said he would focus on restoring harmony while continuing to grow the game.
\n\u201cMoving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fifa president faces questions over his 2027 re-election prospects Kigali, Rwanda Fifa president Gianni Infantino failed to calm the stormy waters surrounding his position despite on Saturday scrapping a plan to allow private investment in the World Cup. European football\u2019s governing body Uefa had led the opposition to the plan \u2014 saying they would boycott […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-559698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n