Gianni Infantino rapidly losing support to remain FIFA president

Gianni Infantino is rapidly losing support to remain as FIFA president, Sky News has learned, after European nations announced a World Cup boycott if he goes ahead with selling part of the tournament to private investors.

At least 96 of the 211 football associations are now against Mr Infantino's venture after North America's CONCACAF region joined UEFA in publicly rejecting selling off ownership of the World Cup.

As it happened: UEFA agrees to boycott the World Cup

Sky News has learned of a growing belief in world football that Mr Infantino cannot survive this latest controversy, with open revolt against FIFA among its member associations.

A source said the majority of the 41 CONCACAF members are losing confidence in Mr Infantino or have already lost confidence in him. It's understood that was reflected in discussions during an emergency online meeting.

Their leader, Victor Montagliani of Canada, is a potential successor if Mr Infantino was forced out after a decade running FIFA.

It is not clear what process could be activated yet to trigger his downfall. Predecessor Sepp Blatter quit amid scandal and a growing backlash in 2015.

That follows a statement issued on behalf of UEFA and its 55 national associations, which said that they "unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA's proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors".

'This model has no place in world football'

There has been fury, with UEFA and several of its members leading the way, that FIFA head Gianni Infantino has been secretly working on partly selling off the money-making parts of the governing body to external investors.

In a forceful statement saying the 55 member associations unanimously agreed to boycott the plans, UEFA said: "This model has no place in world football...

"Europe's position is clear. We will never lend this model our legitimacy. No one has the moral authority to sell what they merely hold in trust for the next generation.

"As a result of today's discussion, no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership."

Read more: UEFA's statement in full

CONCACAF rejects FIFA - but stops short of boycott

The English Football Association also said it stands "shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues and fully support the collective view".

"We oppose FIFA's plans," it added. "The FIFA World Cup belongs to football and always will."

Hours later, CONCACAF - the FIFA federation for North and Central America as well as the Caribbean - issued a statement after an emergency meeting saying it had rejected the proposed FFE plan.

During the meeting, the members "expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies".

"In addition, the need for private equity investment to fund new and existing FIFA Forward programs following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history was questioned," CONCACAF added.

CONCACAF stopped short of a boycott, while also asking its FIFA council members to look at how existing FIFA funds could be used for FFE, and to ensure proper governance processes.

What's happening with FIFA?

According to a letter seen by Sky News, the 211 FAs have been given until 19 September to sign up or miss out on having access to $86m (£65m) in cash over the next 12 years.

FIFA has said FFE would now be "regulating and defining competitions", but the presentation for members selling the new project, which has been seen by Sky News, references a "growing tournament portfolio".

Mr Infantino wants to expand the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, despite only just adding 16 teams for the tournament won by Spain this month.

The FIFA presentation to FAs makes a reference to more than doubling the number of competitions from around 200 between 2023-26 to 450 over the next four years. It is unclear, even factoring in staging more youth and beach football competitions, how that high number could be reached.

There is a reference to FIFA needing to take on "debt financing to scale investment in digital, content, and licensing". FIFA last reported having $2.7bn in cash reserves.

See more from Sky News:
Indonesian FA president vows to back World Cup sell-off
Eddie Howe in shock exit at Newcastle United

FIFA tells members that their competitions are "undermonetised" compared to American sports and domestic football competitions - indicating frustration with the year-round dominance and appeal of the Premier League.

FIFA says it is only makes $3.6bn annual compared to over $9bn by the Premier League and its clubs, adding: "As other sports leagues capture more revenue, investment for global football development gets squeezed."

The Premier League backed a statement with other European leagues this week telling FIFA the World Cup should be not for sale and turned into Mr Infantino's "private equity asset".

(c) Sky News 2026: Gianni Infantino rapidly losing support to remain FIFA president