🏅 Sports · Associated Press
UEFA says it’s lost confidence in FIFA’s Infantino after failed private equity plan - AP News
From Associated Press via USVI News: UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and that “no option should be off the table” as it will pursue a full review of his now abandoned plan to sell stakes of the World Cup to private equity investors. Infantino was forced to scra.
UEFA declares no confidence in Infantino and vows accountability for failed World Cup equity plan
Gianni Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors, but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday’s announcement. He was forced to scrap the plan early Saturday after his senior adviser who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia’s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino gestures as he meets the media at the FIFA World Cup closing press conference in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
FIFA President Gianni Infantino looks on during the women’s Premier League match between Al Ahli FC and Al Ittihad FC at the Al- Ahli Club stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Dec 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is silhouetted as he walks past the World Cup trophy after addressing the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, left, talks to FIFA President Gianni Infantino before a round of sixteen match between Switzerland and Italy at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
President Donald Trump holds up a red card during a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, center, and United States Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro, left, in the Oval Office of the White House, Aug. 28, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
GENEVA (AP) — Successfully stopping Gianni Infantino’s 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’s decade-long presidency.
“No option should be off the table,” said European soccer body UEFA, whose president Aleksander Čeferin has led the fight against Infantino in a seismic week for FIFA.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
This article is republished through the USVI News affiliate desk. Reporting, analysis, and viewpoints are those of the original publisher and do not necessarily reflect USVI News.