FIFA has accused its critics of making “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims”, insisting that “speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact” as pressure on president Gianni Infantino continues to grow.
Infantino has faced increasing scrutiny from UEFA and European football associations over his abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have created a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights, with 21% sold off to a private investment company. UEFA has stated its threat to boycott FIFA events remains on the table, saying certain conditions have not been met.
FIFA pushed back firmly in a Saturday statement, defending its president’s position. “The FIFA President was democratically elected by FIFA’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate,” the governing body said. “It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its president.”
While opposition to Infantino is largely concentrated within Europe, backing for the president has emerged from other regions. The Mexican Football Federation broke ranks with its regional governing body Concacaf to publicly support Infantino, echoing a statement from South American governing body Conmebol, which said it would reject any attempt to remove Infantino without a vote involving all 211 FIFA member countries.
Infantino also holds unanimous backing from the 54 nations of the Confederation of African Football, leaving his critics facing a significant challenge in building the broader coalition needed to force any meaningful change through FIFA’s established processes.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
