FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani shake hands before the 2022 World Cup soccer draw at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. (AP photo)
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- FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani shake hands before the 2022 World Cup soccer draw at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. (AP photo)
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- FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani greet each other during the 2022 soccer World Cup draw at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. (AP photo)
LONDON — In a small ground-floor office suite in London’s affluent Mayfair district, FIFA’s control over world football was eroded with a handshake and low-key unveiling.
The deeper alliance between the two most powerful football confederations from Europe and South America — by opening a joint office — comes just as FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been left chastened by the collapse of his pursuit of biennial World Cups.
The resistance to the attempt to double the frequency of FIFA’s showpiece events was led by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and CONMEBOL counterpart Alejandro Dominguez, who toasted their partnership with the office opening on Monday.
It is a joint base seemingly without any staff, established in time for the launch of a match which shows intercontinental competitions can be organized without any involvement from FIFA. The debut of the Finalissima — a clash of the European and South Americans champions — will see Italy and Argentina meet at Wembley Stadium in north London in June.
In speeches to the small gathered audience of European and South American national federation heads at their London office, Ceferin and Dominguez sought to emphasize this was not a collaboration with financial motivations.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani greet each other during the 2022 soccer World Cup draw at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. (AP photo)
The journey has already included UEFA and CONEMBOL both threatening boycotts of the World Cup if FIFA pushed ahead with an attempt to double the frequency of the tournament.
Having exhausted time and money into making the case for the plan, FIFA and Infantino are trying to disown the project and shift the responsibility on their members for backing a Saudi proposal for a feasibility study.
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