UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF demand independent review after FIFA World Cup stake plan sparks crisis

UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF on Monday called for an independent review of FIFA's plan to sell a minority stake tied to the commercial value of the World Cup, escalating a governance crisis within world football after the proposal was abandoned.

The three confederations issued a strongly worded open letter accusing FIFA leadership, and President Gianni Infantino specifically, of breaking the trust of the football community and rejecting FIFA's contention that the episode was merely a communication failure. They said the matter reflected deeper problems in how decisions are being made at the top of world football and insisted any investigation must be conducted by a fully independent third party rather than by FIFA itself.

The dispute began with FIFA's proposal to create a new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise, and to sell a minority stake to outside investors; the confederations said that proposal was pushed through on a compressed timeline with member associations given limited time to review the terms. In their letter the confederations argued the process was designed to restrict scrutiny and quoted the document in saying, “FIFA's recent letter ... acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process. It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment.”

The confederations emphasised that their objection was not about FIFA's finances. “This is not about money,” the letter said, noting the confederations had already requested that FIFA use its existing reserves to increase investment in member-association development and stating they did not seek to reopen agreed decisions such as tournament expansion or World Cup allocations.

Strong criticism was directed at the governance process used to advance the plan, with the confederations pointing to a meeting in Morocco where, they said, only one elected FIFA official was present and no FIFA Council members or member associations were invited. They added that only a select management committee of senior FIFA executives attended and wrote that “This recent meeting ... only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment.” The letter described the attempt to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup as a “profound failure of judgment” and a “fundamental breach of trust.”

The confederations demanded that all relevant documents and records be preserved and were explicit that FIFA staff should not run any review: “FIFA administration should have no role in conducting this review.” The letter also stated, “There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness.” The signatories concluded with the names SALMAN BIN IBRAHIM AL KHALIFAFC President and DATUK SERI WINDSOR JOHNAFC General Secretary.

The intervention from UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF comes despite the article noting that Infantino retains considerable political support from the Confederation of African Football and several member associations, and it arrives with the March 2027 FIFA presidential election approaching, raising broader questions about FIFA leadership.

FIFA has committed to present a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, but the confederations say that falls short of what is required and reiterate that any review must be carried out by a fully independent third party with no role for FIFA administration.