The submerged war regarding the path that FIFA was imposing on football has come to an end. The leaders of the major world federations have jointly written an open letter against the "wrong decisions" they believe were being made by the international organization.
Thus, the presidents of UEFA, AFC, and CONCACAF complain about the individualism they are observing in the development of a sport that "does not belong to any individual or institution" and whose growth does not respond to a single person but to a joint effort.
Aleksander Ceferin (UEFA), Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (AFC), and Victor Montagliani (Concacaf) do not question "the expansion of tournaments, the allocation of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, or the distribution of resources to associations" which they refer to as "shared and jointly executed achievements."
They assert that it is not about "money" or any other interest such as new spots for the World Cups or a loss of support but rather about "the integrity of football and the integrity of those who have been elected to lead it." A criticism that seems to have specific targets.
"Leadership in football is not ownership. It does not consist of holding —or demanding— power to retain it," they write in a letter where they speak of a breach of trust "through deceit" because an individual places themselves above the collective that entrusted them with authority.
The signatories recall the recent FIFA letter to its associations in which it acknowledges that mistakes were made, such as the proposal to privatize parts of the World Cups. "It presents what happened as a communication failure, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment," they assert firmly about a project that the organization itself admitted was "inherently wrong."
In the letter, they mention a proposal without sufficient deadlines with a design aimed at limiting scrutiny, a serious error in judgment, and a "fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions that FIFA exists to serve."
There are also complaints about meetings without proper invitations, partial reports on their decisions, and improper behavior from a football custodian "but from someone who believes that football should answer to them." "There is silence where there should be accountability; distance where there should be transparency," they point out.
The federations therefore demand "leadership that serves football, not one that seeks to govern it" and also that unity be respected for the benefit of the sport and not for the personal gain of a single individual.