CONCACAF calls for ‘comprehensive reckoning' with Infantino as pressure mounts on FIFA leadership

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) on Saturday intensified pressure on FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling for a "comprehensive reckoning" with his presidency just hours after UEFA declared that the governing body's leadership had lost the confidence of much of the football community.

Welcoming FIFA's decision to withdraw its controversial proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup and other competitions to private investors, the football confederation said the episode exposed deep failures in governance, transparency and leadership.

"The events of recent days have exposed something that cannot now be set aside," CONCACAF said in a statement.

"A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first."

The confederation added: "This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour. A comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative."

CONCACAF said the proposal was advanced "outside every established governance framework, without transparency, consultation or due process," arguing that FIFA is "not a private enterprise" but an institution held in trust for the global game.

"Where that duty is not upheld, accountability cannot be optional," it said.

The confederation said its FIFA Council members would pursue questions of governance, accountability and leadership through FIFA's established institutions, while also seeking ways to increase football development funding from FIFA's reserves without compromising the organization's governance.

"CONCACAF would also like to acknowledge and commend the role of the media in bringing this issue out of the shadows and into the light," according to the statement.

Earlier Saturday, UEFA also welcomed FIFA's withdrawal of the proposal but said the episode had severely damaged confidence in the governing body's leadership.

"The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA's confidence but also that of many other members of the football family," UEFA said.

The European governing body said it would work with its member associations and other confederations in the coming weeks to examine how the proposal emerged and develop safeguards to ensure a similar situation cannot happen again.

"That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table," UEFA said, adding that while the withdrawal of the proposal was "a victory for the whole game, the task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun."

FIFA abandoned the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) on Friday after widespread opposition from confederations and national associations over plans to allow minority private investment in a new subsidiary managing the commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA competitions.

Click here to read article