According to BBC Sport, European football’s governing body, UEFA, is holding firm in its opposition to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, threatening a boycott of major competitions, including the World Cup. This defiant stance comes despite Infantino’s controversial plan to sell stakes in FIFA tournaments to private investors being abandoned, and a growing chorus of support for the FIFA president from other global confederations.

BBC Sport reports that UEFA has declared FIFA’s defence of its president “changes nothing” regarding its loss of confidence in Infantino’s leadership. The English FA has also formally withdrawn its support for Infantino, directly linking its decision to the aborted proposal for private investment in tournaments such as the men’s and women’s World Cups through the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) subsidiary. UEFA had previously described the FFE proposal as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal.”

According to the BBC, UEFA believes its conditions for resolving the dispute have not been met.

“First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again. These conditions have not been met,” a UEFA statement said.

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The organisation added: “Uefa made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds. Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the Fifa president (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing.”

Infantino consolidates support

As reported by BBC Sport, while European football remains largely critical, Infantino has been actively consolidating support elsewhere. FIFA acknowledged “mistakes” regarding the FFE during a meeting in Rabat, Morocco, saying it was “not the intention” for the FIFA Council and member associations to “feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently.”

Despite that admission, the BBC reports that Infantino has secured significant backing from other confederations and national associations. CONMEBOL and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) both publicly supported him, while the football associations of World Cup co-hosts Mexico and tournament runners-up Argentina also pledged their backing. Gambia Football Federation president Lamin Kaba Bajo praised Infantino’s “courage” for reversing course and reaffirmed his support.

Boycott threat looms over tournaments

According to BBC Sport, the possibility of a European boycott represents a significant escalation. Six European countries, including England, are due to compete at the FIFA Women’s U20 World Cup, which begins in Poland on 5 September. The withdrawal of those teams would have a major impact on the tournament.

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The BBC also notes that UEFA has several potential political options. It would require the support of 19 of the 36 confederation and football association representatives to call an emergency FIFA Council meeting, or it could seek a vote of no confidence through an extraordinary FIFA Congress, which would require the backing of at least 106 of FIFA’s 211 member associations.

However, BBC Sport reports that those routes currently appear difficult given the public support Infantino has received from several confederations. Jordan is the only association to have publicly stated it will not vote for his re-election in March, while Concacaf criticised the handling of the FFE proposal but stopped short of expressing no confidence in the FIFA president. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is considered one of the leading potential challengers to Infantino in the next FIFA presidential election.

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