UEFA has begun talks with Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) over rival international tournaments to FIFA competitions.
People familiar with the talks said discussions are still at an early stage. The move comes amid rising tensions between the federations and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The proposed tournaments could give players international opportunities if the federations boycott FIFA competitions, one of the people said.
UEFA has led calls for Infantino to leave office. The European governing body is also considering a boycott of the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments if he remains president.
The first major tournament that could face a boycott is the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Youth tournaments could also face disruption in the coming months.
UEFA, Concacaf and the AFC called for an independent review of Infantino’s World Cup proposal in an open letter on Monday.
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the three federations said in the letter.
The latest development adds pressure on Infantino. He recently shelved plans to spin off FIFA’s commercial operations in a deal involving JPMorgan Chase.
FIFA has more than 200 national associations. They belong to six regional confederations.
These include UEFA, Concacaf, AFC, the Confederation of African Football, the South American Football Confederation and Oceania Football Confederation.
Infantino plans to seek a third four-year term in FIFA’s presidential election in March. It would be his final possible term.
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