Three Major Soccer Confederations Formally Accuse FIFA Chief of Deception

UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFC issued a joint open letter on Monday accusing FIFA president Gianni Infantino of "deception" over his failed plan to privatize World Cup revenue through outside investment, marking an unprecedented escalation in the governance crisis threatening his reelection bid next spring.

The letter was signed by the three confederation presidents, Aleksander Ceferin (UEFA), Victor Montagliani (CONCACAF), and Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (AFC), along with each body's general secretary. All three confederation leaders also serve as FIFA vice presidents. Together, their confederations represent 136 of FIFA's 211 member associations, per Front Office Sports reporting.

The confederations focused their attack on FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), Infantino's short-lived proposal to commercialize the World Cup with outside investors, which collapsed in secrecy earlier this summer. The letter accused FIFA of fundamentally mishandling the initiative and, more pointedly, of misrepresenting its own accountability afterward. "There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgement, not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve," the confederation leaders stated in the letter.

Much of the criticism focused on FIFA's response to FFE's collapse. On August 5, after an emergency meeting of top officials in Morocco, FIFA released a statement apologizing for keeping the FFE plan secret and promising a review. On August 8, FIFA issued a second statement condemning "the concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President." The confederation leaders accused the governing body of "fearmongering" in its recent communications and criticized the Morocco meeting itself, noting that only one elected official had been invited to the gathering held far from FIFA's Zurich headquarters.

The confederations demanded that any review be conducted by a third party, not FIFA itself. "It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him," they wrote, according to Front Office Sports.

FIFA did not respond to a request for comment about the letter. However, the letter arrived amid existing support for Infantino from other confederation leaders. CAF announced it unanimously supports Infantino, and CONMEBOL stated it will not support an effort to quickly push him out. Additionally, several national associations within CONCACAF and the AFC, including Mexico, Lebanon, Kuwait, the UAE, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, have already reaffirmed their support for Infantino, per Front Office Sports.

U.S. Soccer, a CONCACAF member, issued a statement hours after the letter saying it stands with other CONCACAF bodies (excluding Mexico) in "calling for meaningful change that strengthens FIFA's governance, transparency and accountability." However, U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson did not directly address whether the federation would support Infantino in his reelection, saying instead that the board would discuss the topic at its upcoming meeting in September.

Europe has been most vocal in its opposition. UEFA has led the charge against both FFE and Infantino and is moving forward with a boycott of all FIFA events. CONCACAF previously stated: "A comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative." The AFC's open letter on Monday represents its most direct attack on Infantino's leadership, though it previously joined UEFA and CONCACAF in expressing serious concerns about FFE.

Montagliani's name has emerged as a potential challenger to Infantino in the March 2027 election, according to Front Office Sports, though he has not announced his intention to run. Montagliani has led CONCACAF since 2016.