FIFA President Infantino summoned by European Parliament over investment plan

A coalition of Members of the European Parliament is demanding that FIFA President Gianni Infantino appear before lawmakers in Brussels to answer questions about the organisation’s controversial private investment scheme — a plan that has already pushed several European football associations to the brink of a World Cup boycott.

A draft letter obtained by Euronews accuses Infantino of treating FIFA as a “political career ladder” and calls his leadership into question at a moment when the global game’s governing body is navigating one of its most fractious internal crises in years.

What the MEPs want

The letter, signed by MEPs from multiple political groups, urges the European Parliament’s Culture and Sport Committee to formally invite Infantino to testify. Lawmakers want direct answers about FIFA’s proposed deal with a private equity consortium, which would inject an estimated $25 billion (€23 billion) into the organisation in exchange for a stake in its commercial operations.

Critics say the terms of the deal — still not fully disclosed to member associations — could fundamentally alter how football’s revenues are controlled and distributed. And they argue that MEPs, representing hundreds of millions of football fans across 27 EU member states, have every right to scrutinise it.

“FIFA cannot operate as if it exists outside democratic accountability,” one senior MEP told Euronews. “When decisions of this scale are made behind closed doors, it’s our responsibility to demand transparency.”

Boycott threat grows louder

The pressure from Brussels doesn’t arrive in a vacuum. Over the past three weeks, at least six European football federations have privately threatened to withdraw from the 2030 World Cup if the investment plan moves forward without proper consultation. That’s a significant threat — Europe’s national teams are among the tournament’s biggest draws, both in terms of sporting prestige and broadcast revenue.

UEFA has repeatedly clashed with Infantino over governance, expanded competitions, and the pace of FIFA’s commercial overhaul. But this latest standoff feels different. It’s the first time elected politicians at a supranational level have formally entered the dispute.

The ‘political career ladder’ accusation

The language in the draft letter is unusually blunt for a European Parliament document. Beyond the investment concerns, MEPs accuse Infantino of leveraging his FIFA role to cultivate geopolitical influence — pointing specifically to his close public relationships with heads of state in Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States ahead of the 2034 and 2026 World Cups.

FIFA did not respond to Euronews’ request for comment before publication.

Infantino has previously dismissed criticism of his leadership style as coming from those resistant to change. Still, the accumulation of opponents — federation chiefs, fan groups, and now elected legislators — is becoming harder to ignore.

What happens next

The Culture and Sport Committee is expected to vote on whether to formally issue the invitation within the next two weeks. If Infantino declines — which he’s entitled to do — MEPs have indicated they’ll push for EU-level oversight of football governance more broadly.

The 2030 World Cup co-hosted across Spain, Portugal, and Morocco is just five years away. Time for a resolution is running out.