High Tension Between FIFA, UEFA

UEFA and FIFA
UEFA put up apparently immovable objections on Wednesday to what had seemed to be the unstoppable force of FIFA’s $25 billion remodelling of world football.

At UEFA Professional Football Strategy Committee meeting in Lyon, France, brought together the representatives of the European Football Confederation, the European Clubs Association, the European Leagues lobby group and the European division of the World Players’ Association, FIFPro. The key item on the agenda was FIFA’s proposal for a 24-team Club World Cup every four years and biennial Global Nations League tournament of international teams.

Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, has attempted to railroad his plans through, calling for a swift decision to be reached on the matter. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that in the coming days, he will call an extraordinary meeting of the FIFA Council to make a final decision on the proposal. But the response from UEFA was unequivocal.

“The PFSC unanimously expressed serious reservations about the process surrounding the FIFA Club World Cup and Global Nations League proposals,” said UEFA in a statement.

“In particular, the hasty timing and lack of concrete information. [The Committee] underlined the need for a clearly defined procedure, which respects existing structures and decision-making bodies and which involves all key stakeholders.”

The lack of consultation from FIFA on the issue has been stark. Though the FT reports the Japanese tech investor, Softbank, has attracted financing from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, the identity of the investors putting up the cash for the new football plans has not formally been revealed. In a letter to FIFA members, Infantino explained his secrecy by saying he is bound by the terms of a confidentiality agreement.

But his decision to eschew the appropriate stakeholder discussions — when the project would have enormous impact on the international match calendar, at the same time as selling a substantial equity stake in football’s elite competitions to unknown third-party investors — met with strong resistance yesterday.

“Such proposals must be considered as part of a global reflection on the overall international match calendar and cannot be decided upon in isolation,” added UEFA in its statement.

Instead, FIFA’s strategy has been one of divide and rule. Infantino has wooed individual clubs such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid rather than to hold comprehensive dialogue through organised club channels.