In an interview with Radio Anch'io Sport, UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti discussed the recent disagreements between UEFA and FIFA over governance issues and criticized FIFA's approach to promoting the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" project.
Marchetti stated, "The FIFA Forward Enterprise incident, which involved attempting to sell a portion of the World Cup's equity to private investors, and the way this project was carried out, has left a wound that is difficult to heal for football."
Regarding the upcoming FIFA presidential election, Marchetti stated that "now is not the time to discuss this issue." However, he pointed out that Infantino's related projects "exposed significant loopholes in FIFA's governance system," which is currently under close scrutiny.
He believes that this incident has damaged the relationship between UEFA and FIFA, and that "the bond of trust between the two sides has been broken."
In addition, Marchetti discussed the progress of Italy's joint bid with Türkiye to host the 2032 European Championship. He stated that Italy is currently lagging significantly behind in stadium construction.
"Italy is currently lagging far behind in stadium construction. We hope that the relevant documents will dispel any doubts about the five stadiums Italy is required to submit when bidding for the 2028 European Championship."
Marchetti emphasized that UEFA has clear requirements for match venues, and future matches must ensure the use of existing stadiums that meet those standards. If new stadiums are to be built, the relevant projects must have completed all approval procedures and have complete design plans and budgets.
“Everything will become clear then. It will be obvious that what we need are stadiums that are already in place. If it’s not an existing stadium, then new projects must also go through all the approval, design, and budgeting processes,” Marchetti said.
