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A joint statement from UEFA, Concacaf, and AFC has intensified pressure on FIFA president Gianni Infantino, demanding "unity, accountability and openness" amid the ongoing World Cup controversy.
FIFA has publicly backed Infantino following the collapse of his proposal to sell stakes in future World Cups, which drew criticism not only for its content but also for the secretive manner in which it was developed and subsequently leaked to the public.
UEFA, European football's governing body, has been especially forceful in pushing for leadership changes at FIFA, threatening to boycott upcoming competitions — as early as September's U-20 Women's World Cup — if its demands go unmet.
Now, joining forces with Concacaf (The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) and AFC (The Asian Football Confederation), the three bodies have released an extensive statement expressing dissatisfaction with FIFA's response and calling for further action.
"Football is the world's greatest shared passion," the letter opened. "It belongs to no individual and no institution.
"It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the Member Associations and every institution entrusted with protecting its future.
"It is in that spirit, as confederations representing our members, that we speak as one today."
The Key Points in the Statement
'Deceptive' Infantino Not Solely Responsible for Growth
Much of the defense of Infantino has centered on the undeniable expansion of soccer during his tenure. The Argentine Football Association went so far as to pledge its support through a letter addressed directly to the embattled president, personally commending his contributions.
In the view of UEFA, Concacaf, and AFC, however, the credit must be more broadly distributed.
"The growth over the past decade has been real. But that progress was never the achievement of one person. It was the result of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations and the thousands of individuals who dedicate their lives to the sport.
"The expanded tournaments, the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, the distribution of resources to associations. These were collective achievements, agreed upon together, delivered together."
The statement went on: "This is about something far more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it.
"Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power for its own sake. It is a duty of service to the football family that places its trust in those leaders.
"When trust is broken through deception, when an individual elevates himself above the collective that granted him authority, that duty has been forsaken."
FIFA's Disappointing Response
In FIFA's show of solidarity with Infantino, it praised the president for apologizing over the ill-fated World Cup proposal. Notably, however, there was no criticism directed at the proposal itself.
Additionally, the three confederations took issue with Infantino's emergency gathering in Morocco, which involved only a small circle of close allies — echoing the process by which USMNT striker Folarin Balogun's suspension was overturned during the World Cup.
"FIFA's recent letter to its Vice-Presidents and 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process. It frames this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment. A proposal advanced on a compressed timeline, without meaningful consultation, and pushed toward a deadline before Member Associations could properly evaluate its terms is not the result of an oversight — it is the result of a design intended to limit scrutiny.
"It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was fundamentally flawed. There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup represented a profound failure of judgment — not merely a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve.
"FIFA has also committed to presenting a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, once again failing to recognize that proper governance in the face of such a serious lapse in judgment would require that such a review be conducted by a fully independent third party — not by FIFA itself, its staff, or any stakeholder within football. The FIFA administration should have no involvement in conducting the review.
"FIFA's own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco. No FIFA Council members or Member Associations were invited to take part. Only the management committee, made up of FIFA-employed senior staff, was in attendance.
"This recent meeting, where a select group of FIFA Management Committee members — not the full Committee — were summoned abroad rather than leadership traveling to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA and its staff, only deepens these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of behavior that led us to this point. It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him."
Final Statement
In the view of UEFA, Concacaf, and AFC, the path forward is evident.
"There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness.
"These are not the qualities football deserves from its leadership. That is why we have taken this position: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve.
"Football's strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be upheld now, for leadership that serves football rather than seeks to control it."
How Many Member Associations Have Turned on Infantino?
This statement is particularly significant as it provides, for the first time, concrete evidence that the majority of FIFA's 211 Member Associations are aligned against Infantino.
A total of 136 MAs are represented in this statement — 55 from UEFA, 46 from AFC, and 35 from Concacaf — comfortably surpassing the 106 votes that would be required to remove Infantino should a vote of no confidence be called.
Only 43 are needed to actually trigger such a vote, but despite the damning statement, it remains unclear whether all 106 MAs would vote to oust Infantino or whether many are simply seeking procedural reform at the top of FIFA.
Infantino has received direct backing from CAF, the Confederation of African Football, and its 54 member associations.