FIFA in its latest bid on Saturday condemned ‘a concerted and ongoing effort by some’ to undermine the, world game’s governing body and its president Gianni Infantino, as the controversy over his now shelved private investment plan rumbles on.
FIFA said attempts to challenge its leadership must follow the governing body’s statutes and democratic procedures.The statement comes against the background of a bitter standoff between Infantino’s leadership following the collapse of his proposal to raise about $4.2 billion by selling a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments.
UEFA, national associations and senior FIFA officials have since been criticising the move, calling for Infantino’s resignation that prompted a crisis meeting in Morocco this week, at which FIFA’s leadership reaffirmed its support for the president.
“Those who do not have the support of FIFA’s Member Associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA’s established democratic processes,” FIFA said.
During the crisis hit meeting on Wednesday, FIFA apologized to its 211 member associations for a mistake in handling of the proposal and said its leadership has confirmed its full support for Infantino. The fallout has cast a shadow over Infantino’s upcoming bid at, as the president of the FIFA Congress in Morocco. No clear candidate to challenge him has yet emerged.
On the contrary, European soccer governing body UEFA has expressed no confidence in Infantino, while Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness called him for resign on Friday, saying he no longer had the institutional trust required to govern FIFA. However, Infantino continues to enjoy the substantial support from his 211-member team. The CAF has also unanimously backed his leadership on Thursday, while the South American CONMEBOL rejected any attempt to oust him that did not involve a vote of all FIFA members.