Fifa and Infantino accused of 'deception' in open letter from football confederations

Three football confederations have issued an open letter accusing Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino of deception and breaking trust. The letter, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation, states that the recent controversy over the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was about the integrity of the game and those leading it.

FFE would have created a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights of all Fifa competitions, with 21% sold off to a private investment company. The proposal was scrapped after criticism from several confederations, led by UEFA, which threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions. The letter warns that when trust is broken through deception, leadership has been abandoned.

It calls for accountability and openness, and for a review to be conducted by a fully independent third party. The confederations have also warned that Fifa should not delete or destroy any documents related to the abandoned plans. UEFA has stated that Infantino's defense changes nothing about a potential boycott of competitions.

While Concacaf and Asia have not publicly committed to a boycott, opposition to Infantino is not assured within those confederations. A collective post sent by the remaining Concacaf nations signalled joint support for the open letter. The first test of UEFA's threat is due to take place in three weeks, with the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup being hosted by Poland and featuring five other European nations.