FIFPRO Slams FIFA Abuse of Presidential Power Amid UEFA Boycott
FIFA’s crisis over its abandoned World Cup investment scheme deepened further on Thursday as global players’ union FIFPRO issued a scathing rebuke of Gianni Infantino’s leadership, while UEFA confirmed its boycott of FIFA competitions remains firmly in place despite the organisation’s apology.
In a strongly worded statement, FIFPRO argued that withdrawing the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal had prevented an irreversible decision but had done nothing to restore the trust that allowed such a plan to be developed in the first place. The union described the scheme, which would have altered the ownership and governance of the World Cup and commercialised competitions built over generations by players, as having been conceived in secrecy and negotiated behind closed doors before FIFA’s Council, member associations, players, and other recognised stakeholders were even aware it existed. FIFPRO characterised the episode not merely as a governance failure but as a profound abuse of presidential power, arguing that confidence in FIFA’s leadership cannot be rebuilt through carefully drafted statements, internal reviews, or promises of improved process. The union also cautioned FIFA against portraying legitimate scrutiny of its conduct as disloyalty, warning that doing so would only deepen the concern the episode has caused.
Among its demands, FIFPRO called for voting rights for professional football’s stakeholders on the FIFA Council, a formally recognised role for the union as the global representative of professional footballers, and structural reforms designed to prevent any individual from ever again pushing through unilateral decisions affecting the sport.
FIFA, for its part, has maintained that all actions taken over the commercial rights proposal complied with its existing regulations, framing the episode as a failure of process and communication rather than a breach of governance rules, a defence FIFPRO dismissed as itself an indictment of FIFA’s current governance framework. Following a high-level crisis meeting in Rabat, Morocco, FIFA had also warned that it would no longer tolerate what it described as attacks on its integrity, good governance, and due process going forward.
UEFA, meanwhile, reaffirmed on Thursday that its boycott of FIFA tournaments remains firmly in place for as long as Infantino stays in charge, despite the organisation’s apology and a show of support for the FIFA president from senior officials following the Morocco meeting. England’s Football Association also formally withdrew its backing for Infantino’s re-election bid, which is scheduled to be decided by vote in March 2027. England and Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze publicly backed UEFA’s boycott stance, while human rights group Amnesty International said the crisis underscored the need for governance reform at football’s global governing body.
Not every confederation has taken the same position. CAF, representing 54 of FIFA’s 211 member associations, along with Argentina’s and Mexico’s football federations, have publicly reaffirmed their support for Infantino, leaving world football increasingly split over his leadership as he seeks a fourth term through 2031.
With UEFA’s boycott commitment untested so far, attention now turns to September’s Women’s U-20 World Cup, which would present the first real opportunity for the boycott to be enacted, followed by the 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifying play-offs in October, as the standoff between FIFA and its critics shows no sign of resolution.
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