Uefa has 'lost confidence' in Fifa leadership

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.

Qatar's football association became the first body to publicly back Infantino, despite welcoming his decision to scrap the investment plans.

"While the proposal had merit, we applaud the wisdom behind prioritising unity among member associations," said Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, president of the Qatar FA.

"The Qatar FA fully supports president Infantino's efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally."

The decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was controversial given the country's human rights record and treatment of LGBTQ+ people.

On the eve of the tournament four years, Infantino defended Qatar and said European countries should apologise for acts committed in their own histories, rather than focusing on migrant workers' issues in Qatar.

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What did Uefa's statement say?

Uefa had been highly critical of the proposals since they were first reported in the media on Tuesday.

In a powerful, lengthy statement released several hours after Fifa announced it had scrapped the plans, Uefa said:

it "cannot keep going on" with "secret schemes of fast-track timescales cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game".

those responsible for the plan should be identified and held to account.

it would devise a plan "with its associations and in close co-operation with other confederations" to make sure this "cannot occur again".

it would work with partners to "propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing Fifa Forward programme".

It also accused Infantino of "failing to use associations' money for the benefit of the game".

"We must start to use some of that money that is sat idle in Fifa's bank account to deliver the kick-start that the grassroots and the wider game need," the statement added.

"But we don't need to sell off the family silver to pay for it.

"This is a victory for the whole game. But it must not be the end of the story.

"The proposal has gone. The task of rebuilding trust in Fifa has only just begun."

Fifa has yet to respond to Uefa's statement.

What did Concacaf's statement say?

Concacaf, which hosted this year's World Cup, was critical of the Fifa leadership without naming Infantino.

The governing body expressed concern at Infantino's plans on Thursday, after Uefa had voted to boycott World Cups if the Fifa plan proceeded.

While they stopped short of expressing no confidence in the Swiss, Concacaf said a "full review" of Fifa's leadership should be undertaken.

the "future of the FIFA World Cup, the greatest asset in world football, was advanced outside every established governance framework, without transparency, consultation or due process".

the plans were a "symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first".

Fifa is "not a private enterprise. It is a body held in trust for the game and its members. Those appointed to serve it carry a fiduciary duty, a duty of service over power. Where that duty is not upheld, accountability cannot be optional".

They added the unity demonstrated by its 41 member associations this week "reaffirmed that when guided by courage, integrity and sound governance, the game will remain where it belongs: in the hands of football - not a single individual".

The Football Association said it supports Uefa's position, adding: "It is time for a full and robust review of Fifa's leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently."

Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation, said it was "reassuring to be part of a strong and united Uefa throughout this process".

"We must acknowledge the entire framework of international football co-operation was unnecessarily put at risk in pursuit of individual interests rather than the best interests of the game," a statement read.

"Going forward, all our efforts must be directed towards improving governance.