The European Parliament is set to call FIFA President Gianni Infantino for a hearing over his controversial plan to allow private investment in its competitions, which has met with furious backlash in the football world and led European football associations to threaten a boycott of the next World Cup.
A draft letter obtained by Euronews and now circulating among MEPs from all political groups is inviting Infantino to answer lawmakers’ questions directly, in the spirit of “transparency and democratic accountability that FIFA has itself publicly endorsed”.
The plan involves setting up a new company to run FIFA’s competitions and selling stakes of up to 20 percent to external investors, among them Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared is US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
FIFA claims that all the national associations should have a chance to consider the plan in an “open and democratic” consultation, and is currently resisting calls to suspend the project coming from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
The European Parliament’s political groups are concerned about FIFA’s project.
“The global good that is the World Cup is not anyone’s to sell,” Irish MEP Barry Andrews told Euronews. “We are extremely concerned by FIFA’s recent announcement.”
The draft letter, which was circulated by Polish conservative MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski, has been sent to the leading MEPs of the Parliament’s Culture and Education committee for their approval. It directly blames Infantino for FIFA’s leadership and calling on him to appear before them to explain himself.
“We wish to express our grave concerns at FIFA’s current leadership, governance and direction,” the MEPs wrote, adding that it is “a betrayal of your duty to football stakeholders – most notably fans – across the world”.
EU lawmakers are concerned by the lack of consultation over the plan, and by the fact that it has been announced ahead of FIFA’s presidential election year in 2027. Infantino has already declared he will stand for re-election.
“Let us be very clear: the European Parliament will not stand by if FIFA is treated as a personal asset, campaign fund and political career ladder,” the MEPs wrote.
“These developments come against a wider backdrop of public outrage regarding FIFA’s – and your own specifically – political relationships, commercial practices and decision-making.”
If the letter is approved by a majority of the committee’s lawmakers, the invitation to Infantino will be formally sent in September.