UEFA, CONCACAF AND AFC CONDEMN FIFA OVER FAILED INVESTOR PLANS

UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC have issued a joint open letter to "the football family" criticising FIFA's leadership following the organisation's failed attempt to sell stakes in major cup competitions to private investors. FIFA president Gianni Infantino proposed the plan in recent weeks but reversed course after widespread opposition. The three continental confederations accused FIFA of "deception" and a "fundamental breach of trust" in their statement.

FIFA held a meeting of senior executives in Rabat, Morocco, to address the fallout from the abandoned proposal. At that meeting, FIFA executives reaffirmed their support for Infantino and stated they would no longer tolerate attacks on the organisation's integrity. Infantino also restated his backing for the FIFA Secretary General and FIFA Administration, asserting that all actions taken had complied with FIFA rules.

The continental confederations stated in their letter that progress in football over the past decade had been achieved collectively by FIFA, the confederations, member associations and thousands of individuals working within the game, rather than by individual leadership. They called for responsible distribution of FIFA's existing financial reserves to strengthen investment in development programmes for member associations. The letter stressed that the matter was fundamentally about governance and trust rather than financial concerns.