The European Football Association UEFA entered into an open confrontation with the President of the International Football Association FIFA Gianni Infantino, after demanding his resignation from his position, threatening to resort to an emergency vote of no confidence if he refuses to resign.
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, all 55 member associations of UEFA are inclined to support the ousting of Infantino, while UEFA needs the support of only 43 associations to activate the vote.
The escalation came after Infantino retracted his controversial project, which involved selling 30% of the commercial rights to the World Cup to private sector investors, in a deal estimated at around 15 billion pounds sterling.
UEFA confirmed in an official statement earlier that it had lost confidence in the current leadership of FIFA, stressing the need for a comprehensive review of the international federation's governance and holding officials accountable for what it described as "secret schemes" that do not serve the interest of football.
The English Football Association also announced its full support for UEFA's position, calling for radical reforms within FIFA to ensure transparency and good management of the game's resources for the benefit of national associations.
The crisis witnessed an expansion of the opposition circle, after the Asian Football Confederation announced its solidarity with UEFA and the CONCACAF union in rejecting the plan to sell World Cup rights, which led to the collapse of the project after Infantino failed to rally the necessary majority within the FIFA General Assembly.
This coincided with the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's chief advisor, in protest against the project, along with criticisms from officials within FIFA, while a number of political and sports figures called for the departure of the President of the International Federation.
This crisis is considered one of the most serious challenges faced by Infantino since assuming the presidency of FIFA in 2016, amid growing demands for wide-ranging changes in the leadership of the International Football Association.