Infantino’s FIFA crisis: What is reaction to World Cup investment U-turn?
econews. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said that world football’s governing body had scrapped plans to sell a stake in the World Cup and other events to private investors after widespread backlash.
The response to the plan, which was announced on Tuesday by Infantino, was overwhelming.
The wording of the outcry from around the globe was damning of the proposal, but stopped short of directly criticising Infantino.
The reaction to Infantino’s decision late on Friday to scrap the investment scheme, which would have sold minority stakes in World Cups and other FIFA events, ranges from overt votes of no confidence in the FIFA president to more subtle, but equally notable, condemnation of the week’s events.
Union of European Football Associations statement
“UEFA welcomes FIFA’s decision to withdraw its plan to sell a stake in its competitions – including the World Cup – into private hands,” European football’s governing body said.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
“UEFA will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world and right across the game to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing FIFA Forward programme.”
“This is a victory for the whole game. But it must not be the end of the story. The proposal has gone. The task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun.”
AFC’s president, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa
“The future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game,” said Sheikh Salman, president of the Asian Football Confederation.
