Opponents of Gianni Infantino are prepared to stop working with Fifa altogether unless he leaves the presidency, according to senior Uefa sources.
Some of those behind the revolt say there is no way back while Infantino remains in post. The trigger was his abandoned plan to sell stakes in Fifa competitions to private investors, and the anger over it has not subsided since the plan was pulled.
Exactly what the disruption would look like is not yet settled. One senior figure said they would certainly expect associations to refuse to take part in Fifa meetings.
The pressure so far
Uefa has already threatened legal action over the proposals. Wales has publicly pulled its backing for Infantino’s bid for a fourth term, and England’s FA is expected to do the same. Sources have told BBC Sport the Scottish FA is in step with Uefa’s loss of confidence in the 56-year-old, who has run Fifa for a decade.
Infantino stands for re-election in March for what would be a final term, needing 106 of the 211 member votes.
Criticism has come from more than one continent. Both Uefa and Concacaf issued statements attacking the plan. The Asian Football Confederation has expressed solidarity with the pair, while Africa, Conmebol and Oceania have not criticised the proposal.
Support has not collapsed everywhere. Serbia, Sweden and Finland have withdrawn theirs, but Morocco, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Sri Lanka are among those backing Infantino to continue.
The voting arithmetic matters here. Uefa holds 55 votes, Africa 54, Asia 46, Concacaf 35, Oceania 11 and Conmebol 10.
The council route
There is a mechanism to force the issue. The Fifa Council can be summoned to an emergency meeting if 19 of its 37 members call for one, and that meeting has to be held inside two weeks.
The council breaks down as nine Uefa members, seven from the AFC, six from Africa, five each from Concacaf and Conmebol, three from Oceania, plus Infantino himself and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom.
What the plan involved
Fifa wanted to set up a commercial subsidiary, Fifa Forward Enterprise, to run its major events including the World Cups. Outside investors would have been able to buy in, with Fifa saying it would invite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments.
Infantino wrote to all 211 member associations offering $40m (£30m) each in return for backing the proposal, with a 19 September deadline for accessing an initial $20m (£15m).
Thrive Eternal was expected to lead the investor group. Thrive is an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The letter
The Telegraph first reported the contents of Uefa’s letter to Infantino, in which the confederation said it was actively considering legal action, arbitration and regulatory complaints arising from the FFE plan.
Uefa also demanded immediate steps to preserve documents and electronically stored information held by Fifa, independent of any internal policy that might otherwise see material routinely destroyed or deleted.
The scope of that request is broad: email, instant messages across WhatsApp, Signal, Teams, Slack or any other platform, SMS, written correspondence and meeting notes. It covers material involving any Fifa officer, employee, committee member, consultant or agent, and any member association, confederation, broadcaster, sponsor or financial institution.
On the 19 September deadline specifically, Uefa wants everything relating to the payment structure offered to member associations kept, including its design, modelling, legal basis, approval and how it was communicated.
Infantino was asked to confirm in writing within five business days that he had received and understood the notice and had taken steps to preserve the material.
Uefa vice-president Laura McAllister called the prospect of legal action a clear call for action over what she described as an abysmal governance process behind the FFE initiative. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, she said the lessons of the process need to be learned so that accountability chains are in place and it cannot be repeated.
She expects more associations to withdraw support, describing this as a significant moment in the sport’s history. Football cannot keep putting out fires caused by unilateral plans, she said, and she wants a change of leadership next year.
Fifa has been approached for comment.
Analysis: isolating the president
By Dan Roan, sports editor
The lengthening list of associations pulling their letters of support looks like mounting pressure, but in practice it restates opposition that was already visible at the weekend when those same bodies backed Uefa’s loss of confidence.
For now, that list is European. It may not stay that way.
The threat of non co-operation while Infantino remains, and of legal action, carries more weight. Both are leverage plays, designed to leave him standing on his own.
If they do not shift him, the rebels at Uefa and Concacaf will look to bring in associations further afield. Asia is where that fight is heading.
Uefa has a presentation problem to manage: it cannot be seen to be dictating to the rest of the world, and Infantino still commands real support in South America and Africa.
Football has rarely looked this split. The next task for Infantino’s opponents is finding a single candidate everyone can get behind for next year, assuming he does not go before then.
