NYON, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and that 鈥渘o option should be off the table鈥� as it will pursue a full review of his now abandoned plan to to private equity investors.
Infantino was forced to scrap the plan early Saturday after his and Asia鈥檚 soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.
Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the with private investors, but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday鈥檚 announcement.
鈥淲e must identify those responsible and hold them to account,鈥� UEFA said on Saturday. 鈥淣o option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA鈥檚 confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.鈥�
The governing body of European soccer, headed by Aleksander 膶eferin, issued its blistering statement hours after FIFA announced it was withdrawing its private equity plan.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� UEFA said.
鈥淚t is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.鈥�
UEFA鈥檚 55-member nations agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions over Infantino鈥檚 plan on Thursday. North America鈥檚 CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.
Infantino鈥檚 senior adviser, , a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the , resigned on Friday and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.
鈥淚 cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,鈥� Cordeiro said in a statement, just hours after FIFA insisted: 鈥淣obody is selling football.鈥�
Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino鈥檚 lack of openness in planning the sale over recent months and that the project must not continue.
Infantino has proposed spinning off FIFA鈥檚 commercial businesses 鈥� including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women 鈥� into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.
The 鈥渁nchor investor,鈥� described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
___
AP soccer: and
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
