FIFA is facing a serious crisis of trust that demands major governance reforms, said FIFPRO Europe president David Terrier on August 12. Terrier stressed that the focus should no longer be on whether FIFA president Gianni Infantino should resign but on instituting institutional reforms due to a breakdown of confidence among football bodies [1, 2, 3].

The crisis escalated after Infantino proposed selling the World Cup commercial rights, prompting open revolt from three major confederations: UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF. These groups have criticized his conduct and called for his resignation between August 5 and 12 [1, 2, 3].

In response, FIFA held a crisis meeting in Morocco around August 10, where it apologized to its 211 member associations for mistakes in handling the commercial rights issue. The organization also reaffirmed support for Infantino while warning that any leadership challenges must follow democratic rules to avoid further undermining governance [1, 2, 3].

Terrier warned FIFA risks repeating problems that led to the 2015 corruption scandal under former president Sepp Blatter. He described the current governance style as worse than during the Blatter era and unacceptable. Terrier said reforms are essential to restore trust and protect football itself [1, 2, 3].

"At this point, the question is no longer whether Gianni Infantino should stay on or resign. It's clear that a real war has broken out, with a loss of trust from many federations and confederations," Terrier said [1]. He added, "I'm not saying Infantino absolutely has to go. The issue is not whether he should resign or not. What we need are reforms and they are indispensable" [2].

Terrier emphasized that Infantino, as FIFA president, should lead and support the necessary reforms, potentially risking his own mandate. He warned that failure to do so would be a defeat for football, saying, "This governance style is no longer viable or acceptable. Our situation is even worse than when Blatter resigned. This is our last chance for institutional reform and to establish safeguards for football. If we can't do this, whatever happens next will be a loss for the sport" [3].

FIFA’s 211 member associations await steps to address the crisis after the Morocco meeting and calls from major confederations for change.

The next critical development will be FIFA’s formal response or reform plan following the crisis talks held last week.