Fifa boss Infantino now faces 'no confidence' crisis

Fifa President Gianni Infantino is under unprecedented fire after regional confederations UEFA and CONCACAF said on Saturday they had lost confidence in his leadership following his abandoned plan to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights.

The dramatic fallout from Infantino's scrapped $4.2-billion proposal has exposed growing unease within world soccer over his leadership style, with European governing body UEFA leading a chorus of criticism that could complicate his re-election hopes.

Fifa's proposal had triggered a fierce backlash from regional confederations who said they were blindsided by Infantino's plans to sell stakes to private investors in a new unit that would run FIFA events, including the World Cup.

Football officials are now demanding greater oversight of decisions that could reshape the governance and commercial future of the sport.

UEFA, whose 55 members had unanimously rejected the proposal earlier this week, declared Fifa's retreat a "victory for the whole game" while adding that the "task of rebuilding trust in Fifa" had only just begun.

"The current Fifa leadership has not only lost UEFA's confidence but also that of many other members of the football family," UEFA said in a statement.

"UEFA thanks all the fans, leagues, clubs, players, individuals, associations and confederations that opposed the scheme, alongside the many Prime Ministers, Heads of State and commentators who have demonstrated to the Fifa President that football is not for sale," it said in a statement.

"We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account."