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Over the last decade, tensions between world football's governing bodies have grown, as global organisation FIFA and its European confederation, UEFA, clash on a number of conflicting topics.
Now, as the dust settles after the collapse of Gianni Infantino's failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, the hostility between the two entities has ramped up, nearing a fever pitch.
The two entities have long been at odds over conflicting interests that have often caused them to butt heads, and the latest disagreement has grown into a global tussle as leaders from both groups find themselves at odds.
The Sporting News details the souring relationship between the two governing bodies, and specifically their leaders, FIFA president Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
MORE: UEFA considers calling for a vote of no confidence in FIFA president Gianni Infantino
UEFA call for member nations to pull support for Gianni Infantino
Following the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, which included clauses to sell portions of the World Cup to private investors, UEFA leadership has urged its member nations to pen letters to Gianni Infantino withdrawing their previous support for the current FIFA president.
The Welsh FA were the first to do so, and the English FA is expected to follow suit along with most of — if not the entirety of — Europe's collection of member nations.
UEFA has also raised the possibility of taking legal action against Infantino over the FFE plan, with ESPN reporting that they have seen a document preservation letter sent to Infantino to request that FIFA avoid destroying any documents pertaining to the situation should a legal challenge be filed.
MORE: Who owns FIFA and how can anyoen try to sell the Wolrd Cup?
Why are UEFA leading charge against FIFA?
UEFA has a history of opposing the global football governing body over the past decade.
As the sport continues to grow into a bigger financial behemoth, the interests of the two organisational bodies have clashed.
For FIFA, international football is led by the World Cup, which is far and away the most lucrative football competition of any kind in the world. However, UEFA's interests lie largely in club football, with the money-printing power of the famous Champions League dominating the landscape alongside its rich and powerful European domestic leagues.
Often, these two entities are at odds. Both parties wish to expand throughout the football calendar, so they often battle for the limited remaining space. For example, when FIFA moved the 2022 World Cup to the winter to avoid Qatar's harsh summer climate, it threw a massive wrench into the club calendar, which angered UEFA, as it had significant rearrangements to make with large stakeholders.
Additionally, the two sides have clashed over the global relevance of the individual entities involved. UEFA knows that European nations are by far the most powerful in international football, other than a few South American giants. Yet when voting on FIFA matters, every nation receives one vote regardless of size, power, or relevance on the global scale, which can leave the interests of the larger football powers at odds with those of the much smaller developing countries around the world.
Thus, the FIFA president has often looked to appease the more numerous smaller nations on matters of global importance, allowing them to secure the most votes from the African and Asian conglomerates to enact sweeping legislation.
For example, the significant financial windfall promised to member nations in the FFE plan would be extremely enticing for the numerous smaller nations throughout FIFA membership, while European nations would be less swayed by the same payouts.
This common approach by the sitting FIFA president can often leave the less numerous larger European nations on the outside of discussions, rendering their interests less valuable or important.
MORE: Which club has the most Champions League titles?
History of recent UEFA cold war against FIFA
FIFA and UEFA have often clashed over global football legislation in recent years. Last year, Adam Crafton of The Athletic penned a lengthy report detailing the cold relationship between the two governing bodies.
Here is a collection of some of their squabbles across the last decade.
FIFA deal with SoftBank
One of the first clashes between the current FIFA and UEFA leadership came in 2018 when Gianni Infantino looked to finalise a $25 billion deal with Japanese firm SoftBank, who have ties to Saudi Arabia.
The supposed deal was meant to fund multiple new global club and international competitions, including $3 billion in funding for a revamped Club World Cup. UEFA has long opposed the expansion of the Club World Cup, believing it is a strain on the club calendar, and an overreach by FIFA.
''We are not the owners of football. We are not allowed to sell it,'' UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin said at the time, denouncing ''a highly cynical and ruthless mercantilism" with a shockingly similar tone to that used in recent days regarding the FFE deal.
FIFA World Cup expansion
UEFA has repeatedly opposed World Cup expansion, both in size and frequency. The most notable clash happened in 2022, when reports filtered out that FIFA was considering a move to a biennial schedule rather than the current four-year cycle, which has been in place since the start of the competition back in 1930.
FIFA conducted a "feasibility study" regarding whether a World Cup every two years was a viable option for expanding the tournament. In a subsequent speech, Ceferin rebuffed the idea, saying that "more is not always better" and that "holding it every two years...lead to more randomization, less legitimacy, and unfortunately dilute the World Cup itself."
Folarin Balogun red card overturn
Aleksandar Ceferin took the chance to blast FIFA over Gianni Infantino's perceived role in having the Folarin Balogun red card overturned at the 2026 World Cup.
The European governing body accused FIFA of "crossing a red line" by making the "incomprehensible and unjustifiable" decision to reverse Folarin Balogun's red card at the World Cup, allowing him to play in the USA's Round of 16 match against Belgium.
UEFA were most frustrated by Infantino's willingness to field lobbying from U.S. president Donald Trump on the matter, seeing it as a breach of neutrality and a compromising of the competition statutes.
“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition,” read UEFA's statement. “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not."
FIFA cozying up to world leaders
For its entire existence, FIFA has attempted to maintain an air of neutrality when it comes to global politics. So much so, in fact, that FIFA has written in its statutes that national federations must remain independent and untouched by governmental organisations, a regulation for which FIFA has suspended national teams in the past.
UEFA, therefore, has found Gianni Infantino's close relationships with world leaders to be off-putting in recent years.
In May of 2025, UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin staged a dramatic walk-out during a FIFA council meeting in protest of Infantino's behaviour in this regard. According to a report by Adam Crafton of The Athletic, Infantino showed up three hours late to the meeting after being delayed returning from a meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump.
In a subsequent statement, UEFA called the delay "deeply regrettable," seemingly due to “what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests.”
Kyle Bonn
Kyle Bonn is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.
Source: Sporting News
