FIFA President Gianni Infantino came under renewed criticism on Monday after a joint letter from three football confederations — European football’s governing body UEFA, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) — declared that football “belongs to no individual”.

Infantino has faced strong criticism since launching, and then withdrawing within days, a plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cups.

FIFA responded on Saturday to what it described as “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” football’s governing body and Infantino.

However, Monday’s letter from UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC made clear that his critics remain opposed to him.

“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power to be held,” the three confederations wrote.

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

The three confederations had strongly condemned Infantino’s private investment plan and continued to oppose it after the proposal was shelved.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is viewed as a potential challenger to Infantino, who is expected to seek a fourth and final term in the FIFA presidential election in Rabat next March.

Candidates have to be declared by November 18.

UEFA’s threat to boycott World Cups if the private investment plan went ahead — potentially depriving the competition of teams including reigning men’s champions Spain and 2026 semi-finalists France and England — played a pivotal role in Infantino withdrawing the proposal.

Before the controversy, Infantino had appeared likely to face no opposition after overseeing what was described as a successful World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The 56-year-old Swiss, who has been in office for 10 years, has received backing from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), while South American governing body CONMEBOL remains largely supportive.

The confederations do not vote as blocs, and some supportive voices for Infantino have emerged from CONCACAF, Mexico and two AFC members — Kuwait and 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, where Infantino has a house.

Although the proposal has been shelved for more than a week — with UEFA describing it as “a shabby, opaque, backroom deal” — the confederations criticised Infantino over what they described as a lack of judgment.

“FIFA’s recent letter to its Vice-Presidents and 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process,” they said.

“It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment.”

Accountability

Although Infantino received the “full support” of senior FIFA directors last week during an emergency meeting he called in Morocco, the confederations said the meeting did not address their concerns.

“This recent meeting, where a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee — not the full Committee — were summoned abroad, rather than leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA, its staff, only reinforces these concerns and represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment,” they said.

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

Infantino had been enjoying the success of a World Cup that was the largest ever involving 48 teams.

However, the confederations stressed that the achievement was not the work of one individual.

“The growth over the past decade has been real,” they said.

“But that progress was never the work of one individual.

“It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to the game.

“The expanded tournaments, the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, the distribution of resources to associations. These were shared achievements, agreed together, delivered together.”

The confederations concluded their letter by saying that under Infantino’s leadership “there is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness”.

They added: “That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve. Football’s strength has always been its unity.”