A new fiery statement from UEFA against Infantino: he uses our sport to enrich his friends | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 29 Jul 2026 | Lesezeit: 2 Minuten

The war between world and European football's governing bodies has hit boiling point. UEFA fired off a fresh, furious statement accusing Gianni Infantino of trying to turn the game into a "commodity" by selling its biggest tournaments to private investors under the banner of development.

In its fiercest attack since the crisis broke, the European body accused FIFA of exploiting the game "to enrich itself and its circle of friends" through a controversial plan to create a commercial company that would own the rights to the major competitions, the World Cup chief among them, and put shares in it up for sale.

At the heart of Infantino's scheme lies a pledge to the 211 national federations: 40 million dollars each, with an immediate first instalment of 20 million dollars for those who sign up before his deadline of 19 September.

Rejecting the proposal, Infantino warned the federations, would see their profits collapse to just 2.7 billion dollars, a drop of up to 75%. Many read it as naked blackmail. The English federation and other major federations voiced strong reservations.

UEFA hit back hard on Wednesday with a brief but scathing statement: "We learned today of the deadline imposed by FIFA on the federations to support its proposals, or else they will lose the exceptional payment. This alone reveals everything about this plan."

The statement went on: "After our consultations with all parties concerned in the game, we confirm that there is broad and growing opposition to FIFA's scheme. FIFA cannot continue to use our sport to enrich itself and its friends." 

"We are capable of developing the game properly," it continued, "and the time has come to put the interests of the federations, clubs, tournaments, players and fans first."

UEFA's 55 member federations are expected to hold a decisive meeting on Thursday to unify their stance and respond collectively to Infantino's plan to privatise the World Cup.

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