UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC accuse Infantino of 'breach of trust'

UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC accuse Infantino of 'breach of trust' August 10, 2026Gianni Infantino's already perilous position as FIFA president took another blow on Monday, as three continental federations banded together in an apparent attempt to try to force him out. An "Open Letter to the Football Family" signed by the heads of UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) and AFC (Asia) appeared to take aim at Infantino – without actually mentioning him by name. "This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it. Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held," the statement read. "It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it. When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned." The letter criticizes Infantino's now scrapped plan to form a subsidiary arm of FIFA in order to sell off part of its commercial operations to investors. It says that even in withdrawing the plan FIFA "did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong." It also labels the plan a "fundamental breach of trust" and lambasted Infantino's seemingly unilateral actions in bypassing the executive FIFA Council for his initial proposal and then holding a summit in Morocco with only selected senior figures within the organization. "It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him. There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness," the letter reads. The statement comes after media reports that UEFA paid off an alleged mistress of Infantino during his time at the European confederation. FIFA in response criticized "unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims" and said that "it is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President." FIFA have not yet replied to a DW request for comment on the open letter. What does this change? Were the national federations of the three confederations to fall in line, there would be easily enough votes to oust Infantino at the presidential election next February. FIFA has 211 voting members and thus a presidential candidate in a two-horse race would require 106 votes next March. UEFA (55 members) AFC (46) and CONCACAF (35) would easily have enough if each confederation's members voted as a bloc. However, this seems unlikely. While UEFA, who have driven much of the opposition, seem relatively united, the picture in the two other confederations is more mixed. Mexico, one of CONCACAF's most powerful nations and a World Cup 2026 cohost, have backed Infantino while Qatar, who hosted the 2022 World Cup, is one of several Asian nations to have broken ranks. The South American federation CONMEBOL (10) does not yet have a clear position on Infantino, but one of its most powerful nations, Argentina, have lent Infantino their support. The Oceania federation (11) has also yet to make its position clear. Perhaps the best news for Infantino was the backing of the African confederation, CAF (54), last week. A statement from the organization's executive committee said that CAF: "unanimously reconfirmed its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino and thanked him for his support for African Football, over the years." Is there a candidate to challenge Infantino? This is the big question. As it stands, no candidate has stepped forward. Infantino won the last presidential election unopposed and looked likely to do so again next March, until a few weeks ago. Though the clear positioning of several confederations against Infantino suggests that running unopposed again is now unlikely, a candidate that can unite those federations in opposition to the Swiss administrator is the next step. "There's such an imperative to get a candidate who could unite the whole world of football, not just Europe in this case," UEFA vice president, Laura McAllister, recently told DW. "It's not as easy as people might think. The right candidate has to also have the right level of support, but if we're talking about the right candidate, then I think that person, that man or woman needs to be somebody who recognizes that we are simply custodians of the sport and that we look after it and hopefully leave it in better health." What might happen next? There will no doubt be plenty of backroom talks about finding a candidate and announcing them at the right time. But given that Infantino retains a reasonable amount of support, football's powerbrokers will likely want to ensure whoever they might put up can win. UEFA executives will likely discuss this at the Super Cup (between the winners of last season's Champions League and Europa League) later this week, while other federations will look to do similar. Looming in early September is the first FIFA tournament since the controversial sell off plan was announced. The U-20 Women's World Cup is being held in Poland, a UEFA member, and it is not yet clear whether European teams will participate in the tournament with Infantino still in charge. Edited by: Chuck Penfold