UEFA Loses Confidence in FIFA Leadership

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has announced a loss of confidence in the leadership of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) due to plans to transfer World Cup rights shares to private investors.

Earlier this week, FIFA confirmed on its official platform the intention to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which aims to consolidate the organization’s commercial and tournament activities while offering private investors the opportunity to acquire stakes.

UEFA responded negatively to this proposal, threatening to boycott the World Cup. On Saturday evening, FIFA's press service published a statement from the organization’s president, Gianni Infantino, acknowledging the controversial situation surrounding the project and informing that the proposal would not be realized.

UEFA positively assesses FIFA's decision to abandon the intent to sell shares of its own tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors. This proposal had been unanimously rejected by UEFA member associations and by many other football federations and confederations around the world.

UEFA expresses gratitude to all fans, leagues, clubs, players, individuals, associations, and confederations who opposed the mentioned plans, as well as the many prime ministers, heads of state, and commentators who showed FIFA's president that football is not for sale.

"We cannot continue like this—with secret projects that are developed at a rapid pace, crafted by faceless individuals, and bring questionable benefits to the game. We must identify the responsible parties and hold them accountable. Indeed, UEFA will work with its associations and other confederations in the coming days and weeks to analyze what has happened and develop a plan to ensure that such an event does not recur. This analysis must be thorough and fundamental. No option should be excluded. FIFA's current leadership has lost not only UEFA's trust but also that of many other members of the football family," the statement on UEFA’s website reads.