Gianni Infantino faces new shocking accusations after leaked documents show that he has secretly planned to bring the European Super League under FIFA's authority.
While the entire football world was outraged by the secession project in 2021, the FIFA President is said to have worked behind the scenes to rename the league to "FIFA Super League".
Shocking leaked documents reveal that Infantino and FIFA are much more deeply involved in the initial discussions about the Super League than previously acknowledged.
According to The Guardian, the world football governing body drafted a "statement" for the tournament as early as October 2020. This document outlines the vision to rename the secessionist league to "FIFA Super League", thereby placing this rebel project under direct control of Zurich instead of letting it operate as an independent entity.
The agreement is expected to last 12 years, allowing FIFA to take over all commercial operations of the tournament.
Most notably and controversially, the documents suggest that Infantino sought to own a "golden stake" in this entity. This would give the FIFA President unprecedented personal and organizational power over the world's biggest clubs - including the "Big Six" of the Premier League - while linking the success of the new league with the FIFA Club World Cup expansion plan.
Public statements opposed to the underground plan
These revelations are completely contrary to Infantino's public stance when the Super League officially debuted and quickly collapsed in April 2021.
At that time, the Swiss manager stated before the 45th Annual Congress of UEFA that FIFA could only "strongly oppose" a project to "separate from existing organizations".
Infantino only spoke out against it when he clearly saw that the project had faced an unprecedented wave of violence from fans, players and governments.
The initial plan was said to be completely secret from FIFA member federations - a tactic similar to the recent failed attempt to sell World Cup shares to private investors.
Increased pressure on Infantino
The time when this information was leaked could not be worse for Infantino, who was trying to maintain his power. After failing to privatize some parts of the World Cup, leading to strong opposition from European countries, he was forced to withdraw in shame.
UEFA and its allies are understood to be secretly lobbying member federations to withdraw their support for Infantino before the FIFA President election in March.
The fight for FIFA's integrity
Despite the public storm, FIFA still affirms its innocence. The organization's representative pointed out Infantino's 2021 speeches as an official affirmation.
In a recent joint letter, Infantino and Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom declared that FIFA "will no longer tolerate any attacks aimed at the integrity or good governance of the organization".
However, the suspicion of FIFA's involvement in the failed secession project remains a major topic of debate. This agency is currently facing strong skepticism from the public and its own members.
Whether Infantino can overcome this storm is still a question mark, but the "FIFA Super League" scandal being exposed is increasingly reducing his prestige.
