UEFA Declares No Confidence in Gianni Infantino After FIFA Scraps World Cup Privatization Plan
23 sources across 18 countries · 1 state-linked
Who reported this
- Der Spiegel
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- Clarin
- La Nacion
- CNN Brasil
- Folha de S.Paulo
- BBC News
- Reuters
- France 24
- Telex
- The Indian Express
- The Times of Israel
- ANSA
- The Japan Times
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
- NRC
- Aftenposten
- Dawn
- Philippine Daily Inquirer
- Al Jazeera
- El Pais
- Al-Monitor
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- Hatched: the outlet is state-affiliated or state-controlled
Lean is where the outlet sits in its OWN country's politics, never on one global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
Ownership is disclosed, never rated.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has withdrawn a controversial proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors following a global backlash and a threat of boycott from UEFA. The plan involved creating a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise, valued at 20 billion dollars, with 20 percent of the equity available to private investors. Reports indicate that the anchor investor would have been a firm led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, who is the son in law of Donald Trump. Infantino stated that the project would not proceed because it had created divisions that were no longer in the interest of the original objective.
UEFA, the governing body for European football, responded to the withdrawal by stating it has lost confidence in Infantino's leadership. The organization accused the president of failing to deliver on 2016 campaign promises regarding transparency and the use of FIFA funds for the development of the game. UEFA described the proposal as a shabby and opaque deal hatched in secret and called for those responsible to be held to account. The organization also suggested that FIFA should use its reserves, estimated at over 5 billion dollars, to support grassroots football instead of selling off assets.
Opposition to the plan extended beyond Europe. The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF also condemned the move, with the Asian body emphasizing that global football initiatives should be discussed transparently with all stakeholders. Internal pressure also mounted within FIFA. Senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, calling the plan a bad deal for the sport. FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour stated that staff had been deceived by Infantino's lack of openness regarding the project.
This crisis occurs as Infantino seeks re-election for a fourth term in March. While he previously faced little opposition, some analysts and reports now suggest he may face challengers such as Nasser al-Khelaifi, Victor Montagliani, or Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. The fallout has left Infantino isolated, with several governing bodies and officials calling for a fundamental change in FIFA's organizational culture.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets emphasized the lack of transparency and the perceived betrayal of football's integrity for private gain.
- Centre
- These outlets focused on the institutional crisis and the potential impact on Infantino's re-election bid.
- Centre-right
- These outlets highlighted the loss of confidence from governing bodies and the demand for accountability and better resource distribution.
Sources
- Centre ANSA: U turn by Infantino, stop to World Cup open to private capitals
- Centre-right Aftenposten: – We cannot come back here
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: FIFA World Cup plan fallout: AFC reacts as Infantino scraps investment push
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: Infantino’s World Cup crisis: UEFA has ‘lost confidence’ in FIFA leadership
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: Infantino’s FIFA World Cup crisis: Who could replace president?
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: Infantino’s FIFA crisis: What is reaction to World Cup investment U-turn?
- Centre Al-Monitor: Soccer-Infantino's FIFA future in jeopardy after private equity gamble backfires
- Centre Al-Monitor: Soccer-UEFA says it has lost confidence in Infantino as FIFA faces calls for transparency
- Centre Al-Monitor: FIFA scraps private investment plan after backlash
- Centre BBC News: Infantino on the brink? Who might replace him if he goes?
- Centre BBC News: Uefa has 'lost confidence' in Infantino's Fifa leadership
- Centre CNN Brasil: Asian Confederation praises Fifa's retreat, but demands transparency
- Centre CNN Brasil: Uefa says it has lost confidence in Infantino after Fifa retreat
- Centre CNN Brasil: Retreat in investment plan expands Infantino crisis at Fifa
- Centre-right Clarin: UEFA redoubles pressure on Infantino after the fall of the FIFA privatization plan
- Centre-left Dawn: FIFA scraps private investment plan after fierce backlash from officials worldwide
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Fifa investor about-face: DFB accuses Gianni Infantino of irresponsible action
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Gianni Infantino's World Cup plan: Football now has a chance, commentary
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Fifa: Uefa welcomes withdrawal of "shabby" investor plan and attacks Gianni Infantino
- Centre-left El Pais: UEFA applauds the cancellation of plans to sell the World Cup but warns Infantino to be accountable
- Centre Folha de S.Paulo: Uefa criticizes Infantino again after Fifa abandons private investment plan
- Centre France 24: FIFA President Gianni Infantino scraps controversial World Cup investment plan
- Centre France 24: European football body declares no confidence in FIFA's Infantino after World Cup sell-off plan
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: U-turn on World Cup plans: "Gianni Infantino has suffered a humiliating defeat"
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: "shabby deal": UEFA withdraws its confidence from Infantino
- Centre-right La Nacion: UEFA lost confidence in Gianni Infantino despite withdrawing his private investment plan
- Centre NRC: UEFA and KNVB withdraw their confidence in Gianni Infantino. The position of the FIFA boss wavers after his withdrawn World Cup plan
- Centre-left Novaya Gazeta Europe: FIFA abandoned partial privatization of World Cups after threat of boycott
- Centre Philippine Daily Inquirer: FIFA scraps private investment plan after backlash
- Centre Reuters: Infantino's FIFA future in jeopardy after private equity gamble backfires - Reuters
- Centre Reuters: UEFA says it has lost confidence in Infantino as FIFA faces calls for transparency - Reuters
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: After end of investor deal: "Current Fifa leadership has lost trust": Uefa attacks Infantino
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Football: The victory over Infantino is for once a victory over boundless greed
- Centre Telex: Infantino backed down after all, his plan on involving external investors will not be implemented
- Centre Telex: UEFA is glad that Infantino backed down from his plan, but they have lost trust in the FIFA leadership
- Centre The Indian Express: UEFA has ‘lost confidence’ in Infantino-led FIFA management, ‘no options off the table’
- Centre The Japan Times: UEFA has ‘lost confidence’ in FIFA President Gianni Infantino as FIFA scraps investment plan
- Centre The Times of Israel: UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA’s Infantino after failed plan to privatize World Cup
Faithfulness score: 1.00 (fraction of claims supported by the sources, self-judged).