Gianni Infantino’s leadership of Fifa has been publicly questioned by football’s governing bodies in Europe, North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Uefa and Concacaf both released statements on Saturday criticising the leadership at the world governing body after Infantino said Fifa would no longer proceed with the proposal to sell stakes in their competitions to private investors.
Uefa, which governs European football, welcomed the decision to withdraw the plan, describing it as a “victory for the whole game”.
The body accused of Infantino of failing to deliver on promises, quoting a speech he gave when campaigning to become Fifa president in 2016.
Concacaf, which oversees football in North, Central America and the Caribbean, followed Uefa in criticising the plans, saying “unity had prevailed” and that the proposals were a “symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first”.
“This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour. A full review of this leadership must now take place,” a Concacaf statement read.
Unlike Uefa, Concacaf did not mention Infantino by name.
The fallout from the plans means Infantino is now under immense pressure as he seeks re-election for a fourth term as president at the Fifa Congress in March.
Uefa were the first major governing body to react to Infantino’s decision to drop the investment plans, saying the Swiss had failed to deliver on his promises.
“The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” Uefa’s statement read.
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of Fifa’s member associations to elect him as their president in 2016, he said, ‘Of course we have to be transparent’.
“He told the assembled stakeholders, ‘The money of Fifa is your money. It’s not the money of the Fifa president. You are the national associations and the money of Fifa has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else’.
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent.”
Later on Saturday, Concacaf joined Uefa in criticising Fifa leadership and said “accountability cannot be optional”.
“When people entrusted with protecting the game conclude they can no longer do so from within, the football family is entitled to ask how such a proposal was allowed to proceed and who bears responsibility for it,” a Concacaf statement read.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham – the first leader of a major country to call on Infantino to resign – said Fifa made “the right decision” to back down.
