Confederations accuse Fifa of deception over commercial rights plan

Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation have issued a joint open letter accusing Fifa and its president, Gianni Infantino, of breaking trust through deception. The correspondence, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three confederations, centres on the integrity of the game’s leadership and the governance of recent commercial initiatives.

The letter identifies the aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal as the primary evidence of a breach of integrity. The plan involved creating a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups, with a 21% stake sold to a private investment company. The proposal was halted following widespread criticism from several confederations, with Uefa threatening a boycott of all Fifa competitions.

Quoting directly from the statement, the signatories argued that when trust is broken through deception and an individual places themselves above the collective that entrusted them with authority, that duty has been abandoned. While the letter does not explicitly name Infantino, sources indicated to BBC Sport that it should be interpreted as an opportunity for him to resign with dignity.

In response, Fifa issued a statement on Saturday evening criticising the move as a concerted and ongoing effort to undermine the organisation and its president. The governing body has previously defended Infantino against allegations tied to his tenure at Uefa, including a departure payment to a former staffer which Uefa confirmed complied with rules tightened in 2016.

The signatories have called for an independent third-party review of the matter. Fifa has committed to presenting a report to the Fifa Council in October, a timeline that follows a management board meeting in Morocco last Wednesday where Infantino apologised over the process of the rejected commercial rights plan.