UEFA has accused FIFA’s current leadership of losing the trust of much of the football world after President Gianni Infantino withdrew a plan to partially privatize the World Cup.
In a statement published on its website, UEFA said fans, leagues, clubs and players had shown FIFA that football was not for sale.
UEFA said the leadership had lost the confidence not only of UEFA but of many other members of the football family. The organization also accused Infantino of breaking a promise to run international football transparently, describing the withdrawn plan as a murky, backroom deal.
UEFA said it would work with partners worldwide to propose a new way of distributing resources under the existing FIFA Forward program.
The organization called the withdrawal a victory for all football but said restoring trust in FIFA was a task that was only beginning.
UEFA had previously threatened to boycott FIFA-sanctioned tournaments over the privatization plans, saying the World Cup was one of football’s greatest sporting legacies and should not be handed to private investors.
