Exclusive | Europe soccer bosses have lost confidence in FIFA chief Gianni Infantino: leaked statement
European soccer’s governing body declared no confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday, according to a leaked statement exclusively obtained by The Post, after the global organization axed a controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.UEFA leaders celebrated the death of the private equity deal, but they made clear their fight with Infantino is not over, demanding strict accountability for the secret negotiations that almost handed control of global soccer’s biggest events to outside buyers and effectively calling on him to step aside.“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” UEFA said in the statement obtained by The Post.It comes after The Post broke the exclusive news on Friday that the $20 billion spin-off of the global soccer body’s commercial assets had collapsed.All 55 European member nations united to reject the massive financial project.
They were joined by a global coalition of fans, leagues, clubs, and political leaders who stood against the sale.The intense pressure forced Infantino to withdraw the proposal.However, UEFA signaled that stopping the deal was just the first step.
The group promised a thorough review of how the proposal was created, stating that no option is off the table to prevent a repeat.“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game,” the statement said.The failed plan aimed to spin off FIFA’s commercial operations and sell a large stake to private equity.Supporters of the deal promised huge cash payouts to smaller member nations.UEFA fired back by pointing out that FIFA already sits on vast wealth.
The governing body noted that FIFA currently holds more than $5 billion in its cash reserves.“We must start to use some of that money that is sat idle in FIFA’s bank account to deliver the ...