The European Football Association (UEFA), along with its Asian and North American counterparts, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, stressed that football “does not belong to any individual” in an open letter apparently directed at FIFA President Gianni Infantino, despite FIFA’s withdrawal of a proposal to bring private-sector investors into its competitions.
اضافة اعلان
In an “Open Letter to the Football Family,” the three continental confederations said: “Leadership in football is not ownership, nor is it about holding on to power or claiming the right to retain it.”
They added: “When trust is lost through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, he has abandoned that duty.”
UEFA maintained its decision to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, despite FIFA backing down from its plan to open the World Cup to foreign investors.
UEFA also indicated that it could take legal action against FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, in the latest escalation of the crisis that erupted over a proposal to sell a stake in a new commercial entity responsible for managing the commercial rights to FIFA competitions, despite FIFA’s announcement that it had withdrawn the plan.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the organization had scrapped plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to private-sector investors following widespread negative reactions.
The FIFA plan sought to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling an approximately 20% stake in a new entity that would manage FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.
The proposal, first announced last Tuesday, immediately faced widespread opposition.
