A damning new report this week has shed light on a second shocking plan Gianni Infantino backed before his failed plot to sell stakes in the World Cup. The FIFA president is desperately clinging to power, having already been forced into a U-turn over those proposals.
Fierce backlash continues to come his way, with UEFA among his strongest critics. Aleksander Ceferin has spearheaded a campaign that has seen several European nations – including England and Wales – withdraw their written support for the Swiss millionaire. That shift could leave Infantino vulnerable ahead of the crucial FIFA elections in March.
Any hopes of an early resignation were dismissed on Wednesday night after a World Cup crisis meeting in Morocco. FIFA officials gathered, apologised, but ultimately failed to deliver the change much of the football world had been demanding.
Infantino’s controversies, however, do not begin and end with his money-making scheme this summer. His close relationship with Donald Trump has also come under scrutiny, while a fresh report now alleges the 56-year-old was heavily involved in another failed attempt to completely reshape football back in 2021.
Gianni Infantino’s Shocking Role in the 2021 European Super League Plot
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and FIFA president Gianni Infantino
REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
News broke in April 2021 of the 20-team league proposed to shake up club football. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham all signed up to the closed-shop division at the time, but were made to quickly retract their support when protests across the Premier League saw the plot collapse and scrapped. At the time, FIFA president Infantino told UEFA’s congress:
“At FIFA, we can only strongly disapprove of the creation of a Super League which is a closed shop, which is a breakaway from the current institutions, from the leagues, from the associations, from UEFA and from FIFA, which is outside of the system. There is no doubt whatsoever of FIFA’s disapproval for this.”
However, according to The Guardian, shocking files now allege he was very much part of the breakaway rebellion. The report claims a term sheet – usually an indicator to a ratified and definitive contract – dated October 2020 suggests naming the new league with FIFA’s branding.
