Claudius Schafer, president of European Leagues, said on October 20 that FIFA President Gianni Infantino's position has become hard to sustain following the failure of his plan to sell World Cup commercial rights. The organization represents 53 men's and women's professional football leagues across Europe.
Speaking to Switzerland's SonntagsZeitung, Schafer noted that when looking at the course of events, with key FIFA bodies left out of the process, there is essentially only one outcome for any company or association. When asked if this means Infantino is no longer accepted as FIFA President, Schafer replied: "This is often the consequence when someone in a company pushes such a deal without anyone knowing."
Earlier, on October 18, Infantino announced that FIFA had scrapped the plan after fierce backlash from various quarters. UEFA and CONCACAF declared on October 19 that they had lost confidence in his leadership.
Schafer, who also serves as CEO of the Swiss Football Association, assessed that the proposal showed FIFA's primary goal is to maximize profits for third parties through organizing more and bigger tournaments in the future. "The issue is purely financial; everything else is completely overlooked," he said. European Leagues opposes this because it would add matches to an already congested international calendar, disadvantaging domestic leagues.
"No one knew about this plan, not even the FIFA Council – FIFA's governing body. I am very surprised that the president acted completely alone on this matter," Schafer emphasized.
