Ceferin Says Trust In World Football Must Be Repaired After Infantino’s Failed FIFA World Cup Plan

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said trust in world football remains broken after FIFA abandoned a controversial plan to sell a stake in future World Cup commercial rights to private investors, adding that restoring unity and confidence is now the responsibility of football’s governing bodies.

In rare public comments on Wednesday, Ceferin did not name FIFA president Gianni Infantino directly but said “not everyone places the game above their own ambitions”. Speaking by video to soccer and business executives in Lisbon, he said the project that shattered the unity of world football may have been scrapped, but the damage to trust remained.

“Trust in our sport rests on three pillars: unity, transparency, and governance that serves the many, not the few,” Ceferin said. “In recent times, all three were disregarded by people who had sworn to protect them.”

Ceferin led UEFA’s opposition to Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, which envisaged selling at least 20% of FIFA’s future commercial rights for about $4.2 billion to private investors led by Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital. FIFA withdrew the proposal within days following widespread opposition from football bodies.

The dispute has since expanded beyond the abandoned investment plan. UEFA has sought documents and testimony through US courts as it considers a criminal complaint in Switzerland over alleged criminal mismanagement linked to the FFE project. FIFA has pushed back, describing UEFA’s legal action as a “smear campaign”. No criminal charges have been brought against Infantino.

Infantino has now offered to commission an independent review of FIFA’s governance and consult member associations and confederations on decision-making. The FIFA Council is due to discuss the proposal at its October 15 meeting in Zurich.

UEFA and CONCACAF have meanwhile proposed that FIFA distribute at least $10 million to each of its 211 member associations from its reserves during the 2027-30 cycle. They argue FIFA can make the payments without bringing in private investors. Their proposal is expected to be discussed at the October council meeting.

The confrontation is also unfolding ahead of the FIFA presidential election in March 2027. Infantino has confirmed he will seek a fourth term, while Ceferin has ruled himself out as a candidate. Potential challengers have until November 18 to enter the race.

Ceferin said UEFA’s priority is now to rebuild unity and trust across the sport. The next major test will come when FIFA’s 211 member associations and its six confederations debate governance reforms, financial distributions and the future direction of the organisation.