UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf have accused FIFA of a “fundamental breach of trust” and “deception” over plans to sell a stake in the World Cup, intensifying pressure on president Gianni Infantino ahead of next March’s FIFA presidential election.

 In a joint “open letter to the football family” released Monday, the three confederations delivered an unusually sharp rebuke of FIFA’s handling of the proposal, noting that the episode raised fundamental questions about the integrity and governance of world football.

 The letter did not name Infantino directly in its criticism, but its message was unmistakably aimed at the FIFA president, who proposed creating FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to oversee the commercial and operational aspects of FIFA competitions, with an option to sell around 20% of the company to private investors, led by people linked to US President Donald Trump.

 Infantino has since apologised for the proposal, but UEFA, AFC and Concacaf said the issue went far beyond a failure of communication or procedure.

 “This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it,” the confederations said.

They said FIFA had presented the episode as a communication failure rather than acknowledging a serious failure of judgment.

 “A proposal advanced on a compressed timeline, without meaningful consultation, and pushed toward a deadline before Member Associations could properly review its terms is not the product of an oversight — it is the product of a design intended to limit scrutiny,” the letter said.

 The three confederations also rejected FIFA’s plan to conduct its own review of the affair, calling instead for an investigation by a fully independent third party.

 “FIFA has also committed to presenting a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, once again failing to recognize that proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgment would require that such a review be conducted by a fully independent third party,” they said.

 “The FIFA administration should play no role in conducting the review.”

 The letter further criticized the circumstances surrounding a recent leadership meeting in Morocco, noting that only one elected official was present and that neither FIFA Council members nor member associations had been invited.

 The confederations said the decision to hold the meeting abroad with only selected members of FIFA’s management committee “reinforces these concerns” and described it as part of a wider pattern of conduct.

 “It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him,” the letter said.

The confrontation adds to mounting pressure on Infantino as he approaches next March’s FIFA presidential election. While the three confederations have not formally called for his resignation in the letter, the growing resistance to his leadership has raised the prospect of an increasingly contested path to re-election.

 According to the Press Association understands, UEFA, AFC and Concacaf have also held preliminary discussions about organizing their own competitions amid the dispute.

 The talks are understood to be aimed at ensuring that players under their jurisdictions continue to have meaningful opportunities to compete should the standoff with FIFA deepen. UEFA has previously threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions.

 The three confederations stressed that their dispute was not about FIFA’s financial reserves, World Cup expansion, tournament allocations or development funding.

“This is not about money,” they said, adding instead that FIFA’s existing resources should be distributed responsibly to strengthen investment in member associations.

Nor, they added, was the dispute about reversing decisions that had already been collectively agreed.

 The central issue, they said, was leadership.

 “Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it,” the letter said.

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”

 The statement was signed by UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, AFC president Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, as well as the three confederations’ general secretaries.

 They ended with a call for unity across football, but also for a different approach to leadership.

 “There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness,” they said.

 “These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership.”

 The letter represents the strongest collective challenge yet to Infantino from three of FIFA’s major confederations and comes as the debate over his future intensifies ahead of the March election.

 “Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it,” the confederations said.