Former Morocco midfielder Houssine Kharja has called on FIFA and UEFA to resolve their growing differences, warning that a boycott of FIFA competitions would be the wrong way to handle a dispute over the future direction of world football.
Kharja, who also served as a director in North African football, criticized UEFA’s opposition to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s commercial and governance proposals, arguing that the disagreement risks becoming a wider battle over who controls the global game.
The dispute intensified after FIFA abandoned plans for private equity investment in its commercial rights through a proposed subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise.
The initiative was designed to manage major events, including the World Cup, with minority private investment.
UEFA and 55 of its member associations strongly opposed the proposal, while European football authorities also called for legal preservation of documents linked to the plan and raised the prospect of a wider boycott of FIFA competitions.
Several non-European confederations, including the Confederation of African Football, have backed Infantino amid the dispute.
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Speaking to SOCCER212, Kharja argued that FIFA members had the right to consider Infantino’s proposal and either accept or reject it.
“First of all, we need to look at things in context,” he said. “The president (Infantino) made a proposal for every federation. He presented his vision and each federation had the right to accept it or reject it.”
But Kharja believes European resistance is rooted in concerns about the changing balance of power within world football.
“The real problem is that Europe feels threatened by this,” he said.
He argued that FIFA’s broader objective under Infantino has been to expand the development and reach of football beyond its traditional centres of power.
“The real ambition of FIFA and its president is to ensure that football is played and developed in every corner of the world,” Kharja said.
He pointed to the recent World Cup as evidence of the changing competitive landscape, highlighting the ability of less-established football nations to challenge traditional powers.
“That’s exactly what we saw at this last World Cup. The smaller nations were able to upset the bigger nations, “That’s the beauty of football” he said.
Countries who once thought that competing was a distant dream were able to see that dream become a reality, thanks to the expanded tournament that FIFA introduced.”
Kharja accuses Europe of hypocrisy
The former midfielder also questioned the criticism of private investment in FIFA when European club football has long operated with significant external financial backing.
“Do you know how many private stakeholders fund the European club leagues alone?” he said.
“But nobody asks where that money comes from and it causes no outrage. It is hypocrisy, pure and simple. They want to prevent FIFA from doing the same thing they do themselves.”
Kharja sees the dispute as part of a larger struggle over European influence in international football.
“Europe is simply afraid of losing its dominance of the game,” he said.
“The real battle being waged by Europe is aimed at preserving its supremacy. The European authorities, accustomed to ruling over world football as if they were its masters, want to maintain their own monopoly.”
His comments come as the disagreement between UEFA and FIFA has increasingly moved beyond questions of commercial structure into a broader debate about governance, influence and the distribution of football’s growing global revenues.
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Kharja also criticised former Portugal international Luis Figo for his involvement in the dispute, while acknowledging that FIFA members should ultimately have the freedom to express their views.
“After everything Infantino has done for the legends of football, I personally find Luis Figo’s involvement absolutely despicable,” he said.
“FIFA grants everyone the right to their opinion. We will all sit down for the necessary discussions at a time when the FIFA members see fit.”
But rather than allow the disagreement to deepen, Kharja wants the leaders of the two organisations to find a compromise.
His preferred solution is direct dialogue between Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin.
“My wish is for president Ceferin, whom I also respect, to sit down with president Infantino, and for them to settle their differences together,” Kharja said.
“The option of boycotting is clearly not the correct solution. They are two great leaders who need to find a middle ground for the good of football.”
Kharja believes the principle should be bigger than the interests of any single confederation.
“Football belongs to the whole world,” he said.
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