UEFA, CONCACAF, AFC Begin Preliminary Talks on Rival Tournaments

Alongside their joint open letter accusing Gianni Infantino of 'deception,' UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC opened preliminary discussions about organizing international tournaments outside FIFA's structure, involving their combined 142 member associations — what Bloomberg described as potentially 'the biggest threat to FIFA's monopoly of football governance since its establishment in 1904.' UEFA has already committed to boycotting FIFA competitions, including the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup starting September 5 in Poland; CONCACAF and the AFC have condemned Infantino's abandoned stake-sale plan but had not formally joined the boycott. Discussions on the shape of any alternative competitions remain at an early stage.