Infantino resurfaces at Women's Under-20 World Cup amid growing calls to resign

Gianni Infantino attended the opening of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland on Saturday, his first notable public appearance since the collapse of his plan to sell off World Cup commercial rights sparked calls for his resignation.

The Fifa president was photographed in the stands at Poland’s opening match against Argentina, in conversation with Polish soccer federation president Cezary Kulesza. He had largely kept a low profile in the weeks following the implosion of his FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, which drew opposition from multiple member associations and senior internal officials before being abandoned within four days of becoming public.

European representatives, who make up a quarter of the 24-team competition, had threatened a boycott of the tournament before dropping the proposal last week after receiving firm assurances from Fifa that the initiative would not be revived. Legal proceedings, however, continue, with European figures playing a central role in broader efforts to remove Infantino ahead of next year’s Fifa election.

In a court submission filed on Thursday, Fifa accused Uefa of conducting a “smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership” as the European body pursues evidence discovery related to the FFE plan. Fifa’s filing alleged Uefa’s legal action contained “legal deficiencies” and claimed the European body was motivated by a desire to prevent developing nations from gaining the “financial strength to compete with the European elite”.

“If soccer is strengthened in the developing world, global competition increases, which ultimately reduces Uefa’s market power,” the filing read. “By raising funds to allow some of Fifa’s smaller member associations to better develop soccer, FFE would lead to more players from those nations choosing to represent their countries of origin.”

The controversy began in July, shortly after the conclusion of the men’s World Cup, when Infantino’s concept for a $20 billion subsidiary managing Fifa’s commercial rights was first reported. The proposed venture would have been 20% owned by an investor group led by a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner, with $20 million earmarked for each of Fifa’s 211 member federations by a mid-September deadline. Uefa quickly secured backing from the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf in opposition to the plan, and Infantino withdrew it within days.