European Leagues chief questions Infantino's future after failed World Cup rights plan

Claudius Schäfer, president of the European Leagues football association, said on Sunday he believes Gianni Infantino’s position as FIFA president has become untenable following the collapse of his plan to sell shares in World Cup commercial rights.

Schäfer, whose organization represents 53 men’s and women’s leagues, stated that “there is only one possible outcome for Infantino after the wave of protests sparked by his plan among continental football federations.”

In comments to Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung, Schäfer noted that “FIFA’s main bodies were not involved in the decision,” adding that “such decisions usually lead to only one outcome in any company or federation.”

Asked whether this meant Infantino was no longer acceptable, Schäfer said, “Pushing through a major commercial deal without anyone’s knowledge often ends the same way.”

Plan scrapped, trust lost

On Friday, Infantino announced that FIFA had scrapped its plan to sell commercial rights after widespread negative reactions. In response, both UEFA and CONCACAF said on Saturday they had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership.

Schäfer, who is also CEO of the Swiss Super League, added that “the proposal aimed to maximize third-party profits by staging more major tournaments,” stressing that the focus was solely on financial gains while other considerations were ignored.

Warning over impact on domestic leagues

Schäfer said the European Leagues opposed the plan because it would have added more matches to an already crowded international calendar, harming domestic competitions. He added that “no one was aware of these plans, not even the FIFA Council,” and expressed surprise that the president had acted entirely on his own in this matter.