Two seismic shifts have rocked the foundations of world football. UEFA are preparing to lift their unprecedented threat to boycott FIFA tournaments, just as FIFA president Gianni Infantino absorbs a painful blow: Italy, a bastion of European football, has pulled its name from the list of his backers.
Informed sources revealed to "Reuters" on Wednesday that UEFA will officially drop the boycott after receiving categorical guarantees from FIFA. The world governing body has promised not to revive plans to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup and other major tournaments, the very scheme that triggered the crisis last month and pushed all 55 UEFA member associations to agree on a collective boycott.
Why the retreat? To avoid a sporting catastrophe. The Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland kicks off on 5 September, and a boycott would have robbed an entire generation of young female players of "the chance of a lifetime".
Reuters quoted a senior source who took part in the negotiations as saying: "This is not a defeat for UEFA, but rather a reality that consists of avoiding harm to the chance of a lifetime for young players. The efforts and insistence on change will continue."
UEFA officials will now brief the executive committee and the association presidents at a crucial meeting in Monaco on Thursday, telling them the conditions for lifting the boycott have been met after FIFA withdrew its controversial proposal last July.
Infantino loses a strategic ally
Then came the second blow, harsher still. The Italian Football Federation, the FIGC, announced it was withdrawing support for Infantino's candidacy for a fourth term in next March's elections.
Its statement pulled no punches: "This decision aims to express clearly and transparently our position, in full agreement with UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin, regarding the recent initiatives put forward by the FIFA president concerning the management and development of international competitions."
Italy now joins a growing list of associations distancing themselves from Infantino. Claudius Schäfer, president of the European Leagues association, told "The Athletic" that the current path has no future, insisting FIFA needs radical reform.
Growing isolation for the FIFA president
The pressure on Infantino is mounting to an unprecedented degree. He faces resignation calls from three continents at once: UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, with talks under way to withdraw confidence in him.
He can still count on the African and South American confederations. But his attempts to bypass the continental bodies and go directly to the members look like a last bid for survival before the March elections, which are expected to bring the fiercest opposition of his reign.