Uefa rejects Infantino leadership after secret FIFA investment collapse
Uefa's declaration that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino following a collapsed private-investment deal threatens the FIFA president's re-election and exposes deep governance fractures at the top of world football.
FIFA withdrew a private-investment proposal on Saturday, prompting Uefa to issue a fierce statement declaring it had "lost confidence" in the leadership of president Gianni Infantino. The European governing body condemned what it called "shabby" operations and "secret schemes".
The abandoned plan would have granted national federations $40m for football development initiatives if they signed up by 19 September. It was to be led by Thrive Eternal, an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner. The situation had become a "brand nightmare" for Kushner, according to an unnamed source.
For potential investors, the collapse serves as a stark warning about the structural resistance to top-down financial engineering in global football. The fierce backlash mirrors the rapid unraveling of the European Super League in 2021, reinforcing that major stakeholders will reject opaque commercial agreements imposed without consultation.
The commercial rationale for the deal was already highly questionable given FIFA's robust financial position. The not-for-profit organisation holds over $2bn in reserves and is expected to announce record revenues of about $15bn tied to this summer's World Cup.
The proposal ultimately disintegrated because it bypassed FIFA's internal governance mechanisms. Chief operating officer Kevin Lamour described the plan as "the project of one person" and claimed the administration had been "deceived".
Lamour publicly broke ranks with his employer over the issue. "Our mission - the mission of the hundreds of passionate, dedicated, and exemplary Fifa employees - is to serve football," he wrote. "If that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I'll sleep well tonight."
Senior figures who were kept in the dark quickly aired their grievances. Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation and a FIFA vice-president, insisted future plans must be presented "in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner". Football Australia chair Anter Isaac similarly warned that principles like integrity and meaningful consultation were "not constraints on progress".
Uefa highlighted Infantino's 2016 campaign promises to stakeholders: "Of course we have to be transparent," and "The money of Fifa is your money. It's not the money of the Fifa president. You are the national associations and the money of Fifa has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else." "On both these promises, he has failed to deliver," Uefa stated.
Infantino now faces a severe test of his authority ahead of his re-election bid in March. "All of the confederations will be considering options now," said Uefa vice-president Laura McAllister. "There will be moves, I'm sure, to encourage people to stand, but it's early days yet."
