Is Infantino finished? Could Uefa boycott World Cup? What happens now?

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin (left) has been firmly against many changes driven by Fifa counterpart Gianni Infantino (right)

Chief football news reporterPublished1 hour agoThe bombshell statement landed at 16:00 BST on Thursday, 30 July.

In terms of impact, European football's governing body Uefa could not have gone any bigger.

"Uefa and its national associations will not participate in Fifa competitions," it said.

Eleven brutal words. The definitive reaction to Fifa president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a 20% stake in a subsidiary company set up to run the world governing body's competitions, including the World Cup.

A company it is intended Fifa will run but that will be part-funded by private investors, including the brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Joshua Kushner.

It feels as though no-one who matters knows how this situation is going to play out just yet.

"Not sure the detail was considered when deciding the overall policy," was the response from a senior European football source when asked what this decision means for the U20 Women's World Cup, starting on 5 September, being hosted by Poland and featuring plenty of European nations.

Uefa's boycott threat will be activated if Infantino's funding deal is accepted.

Given 19 September is the deadline for countries to accept Fifa's deal and bank $20m (£15m) on 1 January, in theory, countries could be pulling out of that tournament in the middle of the quarter-finals and before the semis.

After that, the next senior matches in a Fifa competition are the Women's World Cup play-offs in October, which feature England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland among others.

"Nobody can even countenance the thought of not being involved in those.

"But let's be clear here. This is not a problem of Uefa's making. It's a problem that Fifa have created. Nobody wants the players to suffer, and nobody wants nations to suffer when it comes to the most prestigious competitions.

"We've been pushed into this corner and that's Fifa's responsibility."

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No-one can be certain what happens now. And no-one knows what the future for Infantino is.

Fifa is yet to respond to Uefa's statement, which was followed up by another from Concacaf, which governs football in North and Central America and hosted this year's World Cup, saying their 41 members rejected the proposals.

Yet, in a sense, it is not Fifa's argument.

Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt is a Fifa vice-president. She spoke out against the plan at Uefa's emergency meeting on Thursday. The FA said it stands "shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues" on the matter.

Scottish FA president Mike Mulraney is also chair of Fifa's finance committee. The Scottish FA's statement said the organisation "agrees unequivocally" with Uefa's stance.

The repeated responses from those who have spoken out are of fury at the lack of proper consultation and lack of dialogue from Infantino, including with his Fifa colleagues, as much as with the proposals themselves.

"Anger," said one source, when asked for the prevailing mood at Uefa's emergency meeting.

Infantino became Fifa president in 2016 when he beat Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa by 115 votes to 88. The Swiss is due to stand for a fourth term in March.

Prior to this week, it had been anticipated he would be re-elected unopposed. FAs around the world, including some in Europe, have already confirmed their intention to support the 56-year-old.

But sources say in addition to rejecting Infantino's plan, the vast majority of the Concacaf members are either losing faith in the Fifa president's ability to govern the game, or have lost it altogether.

Now there is talk of trying to find someone to stand against him.

The name of Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been mentioned. This is understandable. Qatari Al-Khelaifi is already one of the most powerful figures in football, not only through his status as president of back-to-back Champions League winners Paris St-Germain but his leadership of European clubs.

Previously known as the European Clubs' Association, Al-Khelaifi took over as chairman in the aftermath of the other seismic event that threatened to pull the game apart - the ill-fated European Super League, which collapsed within 48 hours in 2021.

Al-Khelaifi presided over a name change - to European Football Clubs. More importantly, he expanded it to over 800 members. Of the biggest clubs, only Real Madrid remain outside.

In theory, he would be the best person to challenge Infantino. But he doesn't want to. "He genuinely, genuinely, genuinely doesn't want the job," was the response of a source close to the 52-year-old when asked about the possibility on Thursday.

Historically, sitting Fifa presidents are not challenged in elections. The last president to lose an election was Englishman Sir Stanley Rous when he was beaten by Brazilian Joao Havelange in 1974.

"I don't know, in all honesty," said McAllister, when asked if Infantino will keep his job.

"In a normal organisation, if he has to back down due to something of this magnitude he'd probably be shown the door," Bernstein said.

"But Fifa is not a normal organisation. If he has the support of enough of the national associations, he will continue."

He suggested Fifa should instigate a reform where the presidency circulates around figures from different confederations "rather than giving people so much power" as it has done with Infantino and his predecessors, Switzerland's Sepp Blatter and Brazil's Havelange.

When asked if Infantino should be removed from his role, Olsson said: "I think that should be a new start for football."

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While Uefa only covers 55 of Fifa's 211 national associations, in pure playing terms, it is the most powerful confederation by far.

In the last edition of the World Cup, the Women's World Cup and the Club World Cup - Fifa's flagship events - Uefa supplied three of the four semi-finalists.

If there was no European involvement in a Fifa competition, the commercial impact would be seismic and ensure there was virtually no chance of Infantino hitting the figures he has promised in a letter to the national associations, when he talked about a $40bn (£30bn) product.

David Bernstein feels a solution has to be found.

"I can't believe in the long term that there will be a schism because it would be a lose-lose for everybody," he said.

"Fifa can't afford not to have European nations play in their competitions and frankly Europe can't afford not to be part of it.

"On this occasion, Infantino's got to back down. This deal is not acceptable. It's a friends deal and it's not right. If they want to raise capital, there's other, better ways of doing it."

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