Overview
- UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation issued a joint open letter on Monday that said Gianni Infantino had broken trust "through deception" and demanded a fully independent third‑party review of the episode.
- The row started after Infantino quietly pushed the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan to sell about 20% of World Cup commercial rights for roughly $4.2 billion against a reported $20 billion valuation and then withdrew the proposal after heavy opposition.
- The confederations warned they could boycott FIFA tournaments and have discussed contingency plans for their own competitions, and UEFA has issued legal notices telling FIFA to preserve documents linked to the abandoned deal.
- FIFA has publicly defended Infantino, called criticism an effort to "undermine" the president and retained backing from CAF, parts of CONMEBOL and about 70 national associations, leaving the membership visibly split ahead of the vote.
- Next steps to watch include whether FIFA accepts an independent probe, any formal legal challenges or emergency meetings, and how the dispute affects candidates and votes before the candidate deadline and the March 2027 presidential election.