Following FIFA's proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, football governing bodies around the world expressed their opposition and threatened to boycott FIFA competitions.
From FIFA's perspective, and more specifically, Gianni Infantino's perspective, the plan was to sell off minority stakes of the company to create a separate commercial entity responsible for broadcasting, sponsorship and other commercial rights connected to major international tournaments.
While there's been widespread unity amongst some of the world's footballing federations and governing bodies with the boycotting of FIFA, UEFA were prepared to reconsider their boycott position to protect the U20 Women's World Cup.
Why UEFA Reconsidered Its FIFA Boycott
As UEFA officials gathered for the Champions League draw in Monaco, Europe's governing football body reportedly received a letter from FIFA giving them the chance to back down from their boycott, or at least the threat of a boycott.
The Women's U20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in Poland from the beginning of next month, so UEFA did not want to wind up in a position where their non-senior squad competitions would be jeopardized and/or have their member associations affected.
Unfortunately, UEFA's hands were largely tied because FIFA's letter did not include any stipulations preventing Infantino, or another FIFA official, from proposing a similar plan in the future.
UEFA Still Want Gianni Infantino Out
Despite UEFA's hands being bureaucratically red-taped for its age group competitions under the FIFA umbrella, they're still not backing down from their desire to have Infantino step down from the FIFA presidency.
The controversial figure has refused any sort of investigation to be granted that would highlight and expose his conduct in the planning and proposal of FIFA Forward Enterprise, but he's made it clear he still feels strongly about a similar setup coming to fruition at some pont.
Rather than stepping down following the backlash from Infantino's proposed investment plan and stepping down from his throne, the Swiss native has been doubling down and warning of possible consequences for governing bodies that continue to oppose the proposal.
UEFA's Plan to Challenge Gianni Infantino
For now, the plan, which is being spearheaded by UEFA and its member associations, is to find a unified candidate to run against Infantino, with a candidate reportedly needing to be formally submitted by November 18.
If Infantino won't do the right thing in stepping down, someone has to run against him in March and help steer FIFA away from future plans similar to FFE.
There have been viable candidates rumored that have backing from UEFA and who have also shown disapproval for Infantino's recent actions and handling of the situation.
UEFA president Aleksander Cerafin, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Legia Warsaw owner Dariusz Mioduski, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, and even Arsene Wenger.
