Laura McAllister: Infantino World Cup plan threatened football values

UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister has said the abandoned plan to bring private investment into a company responsible for future World Cups represented a threat to football’s core values, as resistance to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s leadership grows ahead of next year’s election.

World Cup investment proposal withdrawn

Infantino had proposed allowing outside investors to purchase interests in FIFA Forward Enterprise, a planned subsidiary intended to oversee future World Cups and other FIFA competitions. The initiative was withdrawn after substantial opposition from within the game.

• UEFA indicated it could boycott FIFA competitions if the FIFA Forward Enterprise project went ahead.
• CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also registered objections to the proposal.
• McAllister said the attempt to sell part of what she described as football’s “crown jewels” to private equity followed a wider pattern that endangered the sport’s future.

Speaking at the World Football Summit in Madrid on Wednesday, McAllister said UEFA’s response reflected the concerns of people within the confederation who remain supporters and former players as well as administrators.

“We know how the game works,” McAllister said, adding that UEFA had acted together because the project went “to the heart of the principles” on which football is built.

McAllister raises broader concerns over FIFA governance

The Welsh official, who has repeatedly criticised Infantino’s presidency, said the failed corporate proposal was not an isolated concern. She pointed to several issues that have unsettled UEFA figures during Infantino’s tenure.

• Questions surrounding the allocation of World Cup hosting rights.
• Concerns related to human rights.
• The FIFA Peace Prize, which McAllister said was introduced without the consultation expected for an initiative carrying major political sensitivity.
• The red-card case involving Folarin Balogun at the World Cup, which she said involved direct political intervention.

McAllister said those episodes had combined to create serious concern about the way global football is being governed. In her view, a broader and more accountable decision-making process would have prevented the FIFA Forward Enterprise idea from progressing as far as it did.

She argued that concentrating authority in one individual’s hands was unhealthy, and said leaders should face proper scrutiny and institutional checks on their actions.

Election challenge faces difficult numbers

Infantino has said he will seek another four-year term as FIFA president in the election scheduled for next March. Candidates must declare by November, although it remains uncertain whether a challenger can assemble the support needed to unseat him.

FIFA’s voting system gives each of its 211 member associations one vote. UEFA accounts for 55 of those member nations, meaning that a unified European position alone would not decide the contest.

UEFA is also pursuing legal action against Infantino over the proposed World Cup sell-off structure. McAllister said many confederations and national associations wanted a change in direction, while acknowledging that changing leadership in world football would be difficult because of competing interests.

She said the French Football Federation’s withdrawal of confidence in Infantino last week was significant, and claimed associations of different sizes were now voicing similar objections. McAllister maintained that broad support could be found for fundamental governance standards, particularly accountability and checks and balances.