Three of football’s major continental confederations have issued a strongly worded open letter criticising FIFA leadership over an attempt to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup, calling the move a serious failure of decision-making and a fundamental breach of trust.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), UEFA and Concacaf said the dispute was not about money but about the integrity of football and the conduct of those elected to lead the sport.
The joint letter was signed by AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani, along with the three confederations’ general secretaries.
The organisations said leadership in football was not the personal property of any individual but a responsibility entrusted by the wider football family.
They criticised FIFA’s description of the controversy as a failure of communication, arguing that the episode represented a failure of decision-making.
According to the letter, a proposal was advanced within a limited timeframe without meaningful consultation and with a deadline that did not give member associations sufficient opportunity to properly examine its terms.
The three confederations said FIFA had also failed to acknowledge that the proposal itself was fundamentally flawed.
They described the reported attempt to sell a stake in the World Cup as more than a procedural error, calling it a serious failure of governance and a fundamental breach of trust with the institutions FIFA was established to serve.
The AFC, UEFA and Concacaf also rejected FIFA’s plan to conduct an internal review of the matter. They called for a fully independent investigation by a third party, arguing that FIFA management, staff and other football stakeholders involved in the organisation should have no role in the inquiry.
The confederations also demanded that all relevant documents and records be preserved.
The letter raised questions about a recent meeting in Morocco, saying FIFA’s own correspondence indicated that only one elected official attended. No FIFA Council member or member association was invited, while only some members of a management committee comprising senior FIFA officials participated.
The three confederations said inviting selected members of the management committee abroad rather than the full committee further intensified concerns surrounding the conduct that led to the controversy.
They stressed that their objections were not about money or previously agreed collective decisions concerning football’s development.
The organisations said major decisions over the past decade—including the hosting of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, tournament expansion and the distribution of resources to member associations—had been made collectively and should remain so.
They also urged FIFA to use its substantial financial reserves responsibly for the development of member associations, while emphasising that the current dispute was fundamentally about football’s integrity and the responsibilities of its leadership.
“Where accountability should exist, there is silence; where transparency should exist, there is distance,” the confederations said, arguing that such an approach did not reflect what football expects from its leaders.
The letter concluded with a call for unity, saying football’s strength had always rested on its unity and that its leadership should serve the sport rather than seek to control it.
