UEFA and CONCACAF have strongly criticised FIFA president Gianni Infantino even after FIFA decided to scrap its proposed private investment plan for the World Cup.
FIFA announced on Saturday that it would not move forward with the plan after facing strong opposition from football bodies around the world.
Infantino said the decision came after listening to different views.
“Our purpose has always been and will always be to unite and improve,” Infantino said.
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
The proposal aimed to create a new commercial company called FIFA Forward Enterprise. FIFA said the project could have raised up to 4.2 billion dollars. It also planned to increase financial support for its 211 member associations.
UEFA welcomed the decision to cancel the plan but launched a strong attack on Infantino.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” UEFA said.
The European body also said Infantino had failed to keep promises he made when he became FIFA president in 2016.
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver,” UEFA said.
“The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent.”
“And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.”
CONCACAF also criticised FIFA’s leadership.
“This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour,” the confederation said.
It added that the proposal was “advanced outside every established governance framework, without transparency, consultation or due process.”
The Asian Football Confederation also called for better consultation before major decisions.
It said any project that could affect world football should be “presented and discussed with the Confederations, the FIFA Council, Member Associations (MAs) and other stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner.”
England’s Football Association also called for “a full and robust review of FIFA’s leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently.”
Germany’s football federation supported UEFA and called for major changes inside FIFA.
Not everyone criticised Infantino. Moroccan football federation president Fouzi Lekjaa praised FIFA’s decision to withdraw the proposal. He said the move helped protect “unity and cohesion” and repeated his support for Infantino.
Infantino admitted the proposal had caused problems across football.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he said.
He added that FIFA will now focus on bringing unity back to world football while continuing to develop the game.
