Aug 10 (Reuters) - Three of FIFA's six confederations issued an open letter to the "football family" on Monday attacking President Gianni Infantino's conduct during the proposed sale of a stake in World Cup commercial rights and calling for leadership that works for the game.
The letter, co-signed by the presidents of UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF, called for an independent review of the now-abandoned proposal and said Infantino had broken trust "through deception" and "placed himself above the collective".
"Football's strength has always been its unity," it read. "We call for that unity to be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it."
The Swiss administrator has faced open revolt in the two weeks since he proposed and then abandoned a plan to carve off the commercial rights to the World Cup and sell 20% of them to private investors to raise about $4.2 billion.
Sources with knowledge of the drafting of the letter said the three confederations viewed the letter as an opportunity for Infantino, who is seeking reelection in March next year, to quit with his dignity intact.
European body UEFA, backed by Asia's AFC and CONCACAF, which runs football in the Caribbean, North and Central America, have threatened to boycott FIFA tournaments until they receive a promise that no similar schemes will be proposed in the future.
The three confederations are investigating the possibility of staging competitions amongst themselves to give players the chance to compete amid the crisis with FIFA, the sources said.
"Leadership in football is not a possession," the confederations said in Monday's statement. "It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it.
"When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned."
INDEPENDENT REVIEW
They also criticised a FIFA emergency meeting in Morocco last week, saying there was only one elected official present, while also calling for an independent review, which FIFA would have no role in, to determine what led to this "profound failure of judgement."
U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer, which co-hosted the 2026 World Cup with Mexico, joined with the Caribbean Football Union and the Central American Football Union to back the stance, saying FIFA needed "meaningful" change.
"(We) stand together, along with our colleagues around the world, in calling for meaningful change that strengthens FIFA’s governance, transparency and accountability," they said in a statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump, though, later posted a message on social media backing Infantino to the hilt.
"FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino," he wrote.
"He is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again."
The endorsement might not be that effective, however, given the close association between Trump and Infantino at the World Cup in June and July troubled many in the game.
Those concerns were amplified when a company run by the brother of Trump's son in law emerged as a key mover in the controversial stake-sale plan. Trump said he had not discussed the plan with Infantino.
Despite the opposition of the three confederations, which represent 136 of the 211 member associations who will vote in the FIFA presidential election in March, Infantino has plenty of allies in the game.
Several AFC nations, as well as Mexico from CONCACAF, have already said they will back him.
After quelling in-house dissent at the emergency FIFA meeting in Morocco last Wednesday, Infantino rallied his support before heading to Colombia to attend the inauguration of new President Abelardo De La Espriella in Cali.
Africa's confederation CAF released a statement on behalf of its 54 members backing Infantino on Thursday with South American countries Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia following suit.
BLISTERING ATTACK
On Friday, FIFA released a blistering attack on the critics of the president.
It warned against what it called a "concerted and ongoing effort" to undermine Infantino, saying attempts to challenge his leadership must follow the governing body's statutes and democratic procedures.
The statement echoed those of several of the bodies that supported Infantino, as well as one from South American confederation CONMEBOL.
FIFA's statement came after reports in The Daily Telegraph about payments made by UEFA to a former employee during Infantino's time as the European governing body's general secretary, allegations he has denied and that FIFA has rejected as unfounded.
Almost 70 of FIFA's member associations have said publicly they will vote for Infantino, who would need a two-thirds majority in the first round of voting or a simple majority in subsequent rounds to extend his presidency until 2031.
Any rivals to Infantino have until November 18 to announce their candidature.
Infantino has apologised for mistakes made during the stake sale proposal but the letter from the three confederations said that was not enough.
"It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong," it read.
"There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgment — not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Writing by Karolos Grohmann, Editing by Toby Chopra, Ed Osmond, Ken Ferris and Peter Rutherford)
