Infantino’s opponents at FIFA call for US$10m payments to federations

GENEVA (AP):

FIFA’s member federations should each get an extra US$10 million from its swelling cash reserves after a successful World Cup, the football body’s vice presidents from Europe and North America said in a letter yesterday to its president Gianni Infantino as they stepped up efforts to oust him for trying to sell stakes in the tournament to private investors.

The letter says FIFA should have cash reserves of $6 billion after the World Cup and can afford such a “one-off release” – which would total $2.1 billion to the 211 federations – UEFA’s president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf’s leader Victor Montagliani tell Infantino in a letter seen by The Associated Press.

UEFA and Concacaf want to remove Infantino – either before or at the FIFA presidential election next March – after leading a global backlash in July against his World Cup sell-off plan to investors led by Joshua Kushner.

He is the young brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. Infantino built close ties to Trump ahead of this year’s World Cup held in the US, Canada and Mexico, and was a regular visitor to the White House.

The call for US$10-million payments to the national federations – who will elect the next president – is a clear counter to Infantino’s offer of US$20 million for each to support his now-failed project.

The message in yesterday’s letter appears to be reassuring FIFA members they will get increased funding even without Infantino in the office he has occupied since 2016.

The letter says already promised FIFA funding – US$20 million for each of the 211 through 2030 – “would continue in full as already committed”.

Ceferin and Montagliani told Infantino they want a full and independent analysis of FIFA’s finances ahead of an October 15 meeting in Zurich, to help decide how much money can responsibly be given to member federations.

The UEFA and Concacaf leaders shape as key players at the scheduled meeting next month of the Infantino-chaired FIFA Council – its first since his secretive private equity plan was revealed by press reports in late July.

“Lastly, please note we will be informing the other four confederation presidents to support this motion,” Ceferin and Montagliani wrote.

The Asian Football Confederation also has been critical of Infantino in recent weeks. The football bodies in South America and Africa have backed Infantino, who travelled to the Caribbean last month trying to shore up support from Concacaf members there, despite Montagliani asking him not to visit.

ELECTION TIMETABLE

FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for candidates to enter the election that is decided four months later in Rabat in Morocco, a key ally of Infantino and 2030 World Cup co-host with UEFA members Spain and Portugal.

After a profitable World Cup in North America, Infantino looked set to be re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term through 2031 until the private investment furore.

It is unclear who could emerge as a rival candidate, though European football leaders are due to gather at a UEFA-hosted event before the FIFA Council meeting.