According to The Athletic, UEFA relations with FIFA are tense, and UEFA President Cheferin is absent throughout the Club World Cup.
Although the presidents of other continental football federations appeared at some stage during this Club World Cup, Cheferin, who is the president of UEFA and also the vice president of FIFA, missed the event. Sources believe that UEFA senior executives are concerned about FIFA's involvement in club events, the possible expansion of the Club World Cup and the potential of the Club World Cup to challenge the Champions League as the world's most popular club event.
At a press conference on Saturday, FIFA President Infantino did not rule out the possibility of expanding the next Club World Cup to include more European teams. At the same time, he also avoided the question raised by TA: whether he hopes the Club World Cup will be held every two years instead of the current four years.
Infantino named Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Milan and Naples, teams he hopes to see, but it is not clear how the qualifying rules or national quota restrictions will change to give these teams a better chance to participate.
Infantino praised the economic benefits of the event, praising the $2.1 billion revenue generated through television agreements, sponsorships, ticket sales and other revenues.
Infantino said: "The average average of 63 games is $33 million per game. There is no other club event in the world today that can be compared with it. It is already the most successful club event in the world in any way."
According to FIFA data, the Club World Cup champion can earn up to $125 million. However, this is lower than the $154 million UEFA recently announced in the 2024 Champions League, but FIFA argues that the Club World Cup is worth more in a single game.
But at an event at the flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Paris on Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, Paris CEO Victoriano Melero said he believes the event should be held every four years.
Earlier this week, TA asked UEFA why Cheferin did not attend the Club World Cup held in the United States, especially with 12 UEFA club teams participating, and Real Madrid, Paris and Chelsea entered the semi-finals.
In an email, an unnamed UEFA spokesman said: "I am reminded that UEFA and its president are currently focusing on the European Cup in the Women's Football League. This is a major event for us and therefore requires great investment and attention, which is understandable."
TA then learned that Cheferin only attended one of the first 22 matches of the Women's Football League held in Switzerland, and the Club World Cup began on June 13, a few weeks ahead of the Women's Football League that started on July 2. UEFA declined to comment. Cheferin also missed the 2023 Women's World Cup final against the Spanish Women's Football Team.
As Chairman of the FIFA and Vice President of the FIFA Council, Cheferin is eligible to receive a salary of $300,000 per year from FIFA. Neither UEFA nor FIFA commented in May this year when asked whether he accepted the FIFA payment.
It is also strange that during this Club World Cup, UEFA official X account did not mention any content about Club World Cup, nor did it highlight the performance of European teams or players. By contrast, the South American Football Federation account regularly publishes news about South American players and teams performing well in the event.
At the FIFA General Assembly in May this year, UEFA members of the FIFA Council left collectively to protest. Eight UEFA members of the FIFA Council and several European representatives did not return to the venue after the afternoon break.
The departure happened three hours after the conference was postponed, because Infantino was late on Thursday morning and failed to attend the event on time, and he prioritized the meeting with US President Trump in Qatar. This includes rescheduling a meeting of the FIFA Council, which was scheduled to be held offline in Asuncion on Tuesday, but was eventually held online on Friday. UEFA said the delayed change in the timeline was “seemed to be solely to cater to private political interests” and put the interests of football in the secondary position.
UEFA said: "All of us are in office to serve football, from the street to the podium. UEFA members at the FIFA Council feel it is necessary to take this opportunity to show that football is first and decided to leave as planned."
Infantino apologized for being late at the beginning of the conference: "As FIFA president, my responsibility is to make decisions for the interests of the organization. I have been in the Middle East for the past two days knowing that the 2034 World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The 2025 World Cup and the 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Some important World Cup discussions are underway and I need to be there for football and all of you. There was something wrong with our flight, which led to this delay. Sorry, I'm looking forward to spending time with you here."