European teams may still boycott major competitions, including the World Cup, as Uefa insists that Fifa's backing of president Gianni Infantino "changes nothing".

The English Football Association (FA) has withdrawn its support for Infantino following plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Despite the plan being aborted, Uefa stated its conditions remain unmet. "First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly," Uefa said, "assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again."

Uefa has declared it has lost confidence in Infantino, describing the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal as a "shabby, back room, opaque deal." However, support for Infantino came from Conmebol, the South American confederation, the Confederation of African Football (Caf), and the football associations of World Cup co-hosts Mexico and runners-up Argentina.

Fifa acknowledged "mistakes" regarding the FFE during a meeting on Wednesday, stating it was "not the intention" for the Fifa Council and member associations to "feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently."

After the meeting, Infantino and his deputy Grafstrom were seen together, smiling at a Women's Africa Cup of Nations match between Malawi and Zambia, suggesting a temporary reconciliation.

Concacaf, overseeing football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, also issued a statement after the proposal was aborted but did not express loss of confidence in Infantino.

The situation highlights ongoing tensions within global football governance and the challenges facing the sport's leadership.

Sources