FOOTBALL: Infantino rallies FIFA management in Morocco meeting, but UEFA slaps back with continued boycott threat

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≡ FIFA IN CRISIS ≡

“UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds.”

That’s from a Thursday statement from the Union of European Football Associations, punching back at FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) after a strategy conference with senior staff in Rabat (MAR) on Wednesday.

Out of that meeting came a letter to the 211 member associations, issued by Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom (SWE) on behalf of the FIFA Management Board:

● “For the avoidance of doubt, the FIFA Secretary General and the Management Board in attendance reaffirm their full support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as the only official elected by the 211 FIFA Member Associations.

“In turn, the FIFA President reiterates his full support to the FIFA Secretary General and the FIFA Administration for their necessary and outstanding work in the delivery of his vision. It was discussed and agreed at the meeting that the processes, communications and interactions between the FIFA President, the FIFA Secretary General and the Management Board that support the delivery of this vision can and should always be continuously improved in terms of their effectiveness and efficiency.”

● “In this context, we acknowledge mistakes were made in the process of the proposed establishment of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). It was certainly not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and it should have been handled differently. We acknowledge that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media.

“We sincerely apologise for these errors and commit to them not happening again. With this in mind, we will conduct a necessary review, and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting.”

● “Furthermore, as already known, the proposal, which would have been subject to the approval of the FIFA Member Associations and the FIFA Council, is now off the table. With the project withdrawn, FIFA will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation.”

However, UEFA was not satisfied and in a Thursday statement, reiterated its concerns directly:

“UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non-participation in FIFA competitions.

“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. In addition, 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.”

Observed: What is clear is that Infantino is not going down without a fight. He has supporters and every day he stays in office is a win for him. More pressure is going to be needed to remove him, and those discussions are continuing – away from prying eyes – right now.

A call for an extraordinary FIFA Congress requires a majority of the 37-member Council or a petition by 20% or more of the 211 FIFA member federations (43). The clock is ticking; the FIFA women’s U-20 World Cup starts in Poland on 5 September!

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