UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA’s Infantino after failed plan to privatize World Cup

UEFA said it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino after his plan to privatize the World Cup was abandoned. The plan, which proposed a $20 billion company with private investors, was scrapped after opposition from Europe, Asia, and North America, and the resignation of Infantino's senior adviser. UEFA called for a full review and accountability.

UEFA announced on Saturday that it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and will pursue a full review of his abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. The plan, which proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors including Joshua Kushner, was scrapped early Saturday after Infantino's senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned and Asia's soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it. UEFA's statement said 'no option should be off the table' and called for identifying those responsible and holding them to account. The governing body of European soccer, headed by Aleksander Čeferin, issued the statement hours after FIFA withdrew the plan. UEFA's 55-member nations had agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions over the plan on Thursday. Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned on Friday and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out. FIFA's chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff were deceived by Infantino's lack of openness in planning the sale. The men's World Cup that finished last month deepened ties between Trump and Infantino, fueling concerns from UEFA.