Three major football confederations issued an open letter Monday criticizing FIFA President Gianni Infantino over a plan to sell World Cup commercial rights [1].
The joint rebuke signals a significant rift in global football governance. The move suggests that the leadership of the world's most powerful regional bodies believes FIFA is attempting to privatize the sport's most valuable asset.
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and CONCACAF released the statement on Aug. 10 [1]. The three [2] organizations argued that the proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup would place the sport under private ownership.
Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA President, said, "Football belongs to no individual."
The confederations described the proposal as a fundamental breach of trust with the institutions they serve. The group said that the move is contrary to the principle that the sport should not be owned by any single person or private entity.
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, AFC President, said the proposal is a "fundamental breach of trust with the institutions we serve."
The conflict centers on the commercialization of the tournament's rights. The confederations expressed concern that allowing private investors to hold a stake in these rights would grant outside entities undue influence over the game's structure and governance.
Victor Montagliani, CONCACAF President, said, "We cannot allow private investors to dictate the future of the beautiful game."
The open letter was issued jointly by the bodies based in Nyon, Switzerland; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Miami, U.S. [1].
“Football belongs to no individual.”
This confrontation represents a power struggle between FIFA's central leadership and its regional confederations. By opposing the sale of commercial stakes, UEFA, AFC, and CONCACAF are attempting to block a shift toward a private-equity model of sports ownership, which could permanently alter how revenue is distributed and how the World Cup is managed.
