UEFA boss Ceferin says trust in world football must be restored after FIFA investment row

[p]In a video address to the Portugal ‌Football Summit on Wednesday, Ceferin said unity, transparency and governance ‌that served the wider game were essential to maintaining trust in football.[/p][p]“Yet ‌not everyone places the game above their own ambitions,” Ceferin ‌said.[/p][p]“[b]Trust in our sport rests on three pillars: unity, transparency, and governance that serves the many, not the few. In recent times, all three were disregarded ‌by people who had sworn to protect ⁠them[/b].[/p][p]“[b]The project that shattered the unity ‌of world football may be abolished, but the trust it broke has ​not returned, and repairing it is our work now[/b].”[/p][p]Ceferin did not name Infantino or FIFA directly, but his comments ​were an apparent reference to the abandoned proposal to sell a 20% stake in FIFA’s commercial rights, including the World Cup, to ⁠private investors. The plan ​was dropped in July after fierce opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF.[/p][p]“Football is not for sale,” Ceferin said. “[b]That is the message UEFA has carried for years, and I'm certain this summit will ‌carry it further[/b].”[/p][p]His intervention came two days after Infantino sought to address the fallout in a letter to the FIFA Council and the presidents of all 211 member associations.[/p][image alt="FIFA President Gianni Infantino" id="a8d7cc4c-f745-41db-b382-e0e22867c592" credit-line="REUTERS / Thinh Nguyen" guid="ac3833af-959f-48a0-9e92-c5400c4dd76c" original-width="5500" original-height="3666" /][p]Infantino said he would ask the Council whether it wanted to commission an independent external review of FIFA’s governance framework for major strategic initiatives and proposed consultations with confederations, member associations and other stakeholders on strengthening its decision-making processes.[/p][p]He said any review could examine the roles of the president, ‌bureau, Council and Congress and ways to improve transparency and accountability.[/p][p]The ​letter has so far failed to win over several federations ‌that had criticised Infantino over the investment proposal.[/p][p]Infantino has said he remains fully committed to leading FIFA and is expected to seek another term at the presidential election in March 2027.[/p][p]Ceferin said those running the sport needed to remember whom they ⁠served.[/p][p]“[b]The game will remain safe ⁠if those who govern it ‌remember whom they govern it for[/b]," he said.[/p]