UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF Call for FIFA Leadership Change

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF have called for a change in FIFA leadership and criticised FIFA President Gianni Infantino amid a crisis surrounding the Football Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.

The presidents of the three confederations called for leadership that would serve the football community rather than seek to control it.

The joint open letter was signed by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani. The authors accused Infantino of undermining trust and said FIFA should acknowledge that it was wrong to launch the initiative unilaterally.

The crisis emerged after information surfaced about the FFE project, which, according to the letter, was being developed privately with Infantino’s support. The three confederations said FIFA’s response to the situation had not demonstrated sufficient recognition of the seriousness of what had happened.

Following a meeting of senior FIFA officials in Rabat, Infantino apologised. However, the authors of the appeal said the incident could not be viewed solely as a communication or procedural error. In their view, it represented a breach of trust in FIFA institutions.

The confederations also called for an independent investigation involving an organisation with no links to football structures. FIFA had previously committed to presenting the FIFA Council with a full report on the situation at its next meeting.

Meanwhile, UEFA continues to consider boycotting FIFA competitions. In particular, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which is scheduled to take place next month, could be held without European national teams. Alternative options for staging the tournament are also being discussed.

The three confederations have begun preliminary discussions on potentially organising new tournaments. At the same time, efforts to find a candidate capable of replacing Infantino are intensifying. Montagliani has been mentioned as one possible contender.

Candidates for the FIFA presidency must declare their intention to stand in the election by 18 November. The confederations are considering various options for changing the leadership while complying with FIFA’s statutes and its existing governance system.

Support for Infantino among national federations remains mixed. Outside Europe, only a small number of associations have publicly opposed him, while some federations continue to support the FIFA president. In recent days, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) publicly reaffirmed their support for Infantino.

Several major national associations have also sent him letters requesting meetings to discuss the situation surrounding FFE. According to the material provided, no responses to those requests have been received. Infantino has also not contacted the federations to explain his role in the crisis.

A separate joint statement was issued by the football federations of the United States and Canada, the host countries of the World Cup.

They were joined by the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), which called for changes to FIFA’s governance system.

These organisations represent 40 of the 41 associations that make up CONCACAF. The exception is Mexico, the third World Cup host country, which has publicly confirmed its support for Infantino.

The U.S. Soccer Federation had not previously criticised FIFA. Its current position carries additional significance because the United States intends to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup and matches at the 2029 Club World Cup.

The joint statement by the United States, Canada, CFU and UNCAF called for changes aimed at strengthening FIFA’s governance, transparency and accountability.