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Infantino continues to face fierce backlash over a now-abandoned proposal to sell off a number of commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA events.

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Following a meeting in Rabat this week, FIFA said it had apologised to its members for mistakes around the proposal. It also pledged to review the processes that led to the controversy, but backed its president.

Infantino’s biggest opponent remains UEFA, the sport’s governing body in Europe, which confirmed on Thursday that it stands by its vote to boycott FIFA. One of its members, Norway, has now called for the Swiss Italian’s resignation.

Al Jazeera takes a look at the growing standoff, which is pushing countries and entire continents in different directions.

Why is Argentina and Mexico’s backing of Infantino so significant?

Although only football associations, not continental confederations, the move by Mexico and Argentina will come as a significant boost to Infantino, but is also a prime example of the civil war brewing in the so-called “people’s game”.

In supporting Infantino, the Mexican ⁠Football Federation (FMF), cohosts of the recently concluded 2026 World Cup, have crucially broken ranks with their own regional confederation by backing Infantino after CONCACAF called for a “comprehensive reckoning” with his presidency.

“The FMF will neither recognise nor ‌approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework, and it joins the call made … by President Infantino to collectively continue developing football for the benefit of the 211 member associations,” it said in a statement.

“The FMF supports President Infantino’s leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening.”

South America’s CONMEBOL issued a statement on Thursday rejecting any attempt to oust Infantino that did not involve a vote of all 211 members – a move that seems to counter the stance taken by UEFA.

In a letter to Infantino, Argentina’s football association (AFA), whose team failed to defend their Qatar 2022 title in the final of the 2026 edition, moved beyond the statement from its confederation by expressing its outright support of Infantino.

The AFA cited FIFA’s work over ⁠the last 10 years, saying it had “centred on the development of football worldwide and institutional strength based on a clear, stable, and transparent governance model”.

While the AFA acknowledged that the proposal generated far ⁠more uncertainties than certainties and that errors had been made, it said the ⁠way forward was to continue working under FIFA’s leadership before next year’s Congress.

That will be staged in Morocco in March, where Infantino is expected to be challenged for the presidency, having been unopposed in his two re-elections.

CONMEBOL’s earlier statement had expressed concerns over the “repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue”, stressing the importance of institutional reforms FIFA introduced more than a decade ago to promote transparency.

Why is Africa’s backing so key for Infantino after CAF vote?

On Thursday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) unanimously backed Infantino’s leadership.

Africa’s body is the second-largest on football’s global stage with 54 members, only one less than UEFA.

That is a significant number for Infantino to call upon to counter UEFA’s threat, if he can continue to draw upon the support he has so far been given from parts of Asia.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe is a longtime ally of Infantino, but to have secured the backing of the entire membership on the continent strengthens Infantino’s hand against any short-term challenges – as well as before his bid for a fourth presidential term.

What has the Norway federation said about their Infantino resignation call?

Norwegian Football ⁠Federation (NFF) ⁠President Lise Klaveness called for the resignation of Infantino on Friday, saying he no longer ⁠had the confidence of the football community.

“He does not have the institutional trust required to govern ‌FIFA stably in the times we are in,” Klaveness ⁠told reporters following the ⁠NFF’s monthly board meeting.

“There is no going back for Gianni Infantino. The international football cooperation is very much in ⁠trouble, and we must ⁠have a reason to get together now, and we want to ask the ⁠FIFA president to resign now.”

What is the AFC’s stance and what Asian members support FIFA?

Asia’s confederation said it “stood in solidarity” with UEFA and CONCACAF, which runs football in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean.

Asian Football Confederation ‌(AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa issued his own statement, before his organisation’s public stance, to brand FIFA’s lack of consultation over its plan ⁠to sell stakes in ⁠the World Cup to private investors “totally unacceptable”, saying the move undermined the sport’s existing continental structure.

The AFC did not threaten a boycott in its backing of UEFA and CONCACAF, but has since welcomed the withdrawal of Infantino’s proposal.

An interesting twist is Sheikh Salman’s failed presidential bid in 2016 when he was defeated by Infantino, and the speculation that he is set to stand again in the upcoming election.

Indonesia, Qatar, Kuwait, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, who are all part of the AFC bloc, have come out in support of Infantino.

What other voices have joined the great debate on FIFA’s Infantino?

The Croatian Football Federation on Thursday were among the individual national associations to withdraw support ‌for Infantino, following similar moves from England and Albania.

“This decision followed a thorough reassessment within the federation in light of recent developments surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026 and discussions within our governing bodies,” Croatia’s federation said.

Also on Thursday, players’ union FIFPRO said Infantino’s proposal ‌was ‌not just a governance failure but a “profound abuse of presidential power”.

FIFA has said that all actions taken over the commercial rights proposal complied with its regulations and stressed that mistakes related to process and communication rather than breaches of governance rules. %!s()

It looked like Real Madrid would be his next destination but La Liga rivals Barcelona are now leading the race after sources told BBC Sport on Thursday that the club had the player's approval to open negotiations with City. The offer was made on Friday.

Barca sources had initially told BBC Sport there were no guarantees any deal would be made but the situation now looks to be developing.

The club said on Friday they are in ongoing conversations with the player's representatives and later made their opening offer.

BBC sources say talks with Real have now ended.

Rodri missed much of the 2024-25 campaign after sustaining a serious knee injury, and parts of last season were disrupted by a hamstring issue.

However, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner was back to his best at the World Cup in the summer, leading Spain to their second title and being named player of the tournament.

He is currently out of action after undergoing back surgery last month and is scheduled to link back up with his City team-mates in Manchester early next week.

Approaching the second week of August in the transfer window, City will be aiming to resolve Rodri's future swiftly in order to sign a replacement.

Talks are ongoing to sign 18-year-old Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, but the French club's £86m asking price appears to be a sticking point.

According to Spanish radio network Cadena Ser, who have spoken directly to Rodri's agent Pablo Barquero, Real Madrid made Rodri an "irresistible" offer shortly after Spain's World Cup triumph.

Talks began just days after the tournament, with Rodri's camp praising the courtesy, class and respect shown by the club throughout the negotiations.

According to the report, everyone at Real Madrid, from president Florentino Perez to chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez, worked to make the deal happen and made it clear they were serious about signing the midfielder.

They had put everything on the table to get the deal over the line but despite positive discussions over the past two weeks, Rodri has made the personal decision to accept another offer, says the radio network.

Cadena Ser add that Real Madrid were informed of Rodri's decision on Friday and chose to end the process in order to avoid prolonging uncertainty, while thanking the player for the respectful way the negotiations were conducted. %!s()

Price, 32, is the unified welterweight champion and, like Shields, is an Olympic gold medallist.

"When I look at Lauren fight, she's very explosive. She's fast. She got a lot of skill. I can't wait to get in there and showcase my skills against her," Shields told BBC Sport.

Shields will move down to middleweight to challenge Australia's WBA and WBC world champion Kaye Scott on 15 August in Atlanta, Georgia.

"I will have this fight and I'd love to fight again at the end of the year at 160lb [middleweight]," she added.

"I thought it was going to Lauren, but I don't know when Lauren is getting back in the ring. But I think me and her will fight in 2027, in the first quarter."

Shields faced off with Price after the Newport fighter's points victory over Stephanie Pineiro in Cardiff in April.

Price's promoter Ben Shalom later said a two-fight deal with Shields was agreed, but the Briton has not fought since and talk had quietened.

Shields, however, is confident it will happen at middleweight and thinks Price - who would have to jump up two divisions from welterweight - will take a warm-up fight to get her "feet wet" at the new division.

Shields has remarkably only lost one fight in boxing - to Savannah Marshall as an amateur - but avenged her defeat against the Briton in the professional ranks at London's O2 Arena in 2022.

But the self-proclaimed 'Greatest Woman of All Time' thinks Price will be a tougher fight than Hartlepool's Marshall.

"She's an Olympic gold medallist and undefeated. For her to have the skillset at 5ft 7in or something and go to the Olympics at 165lb and win an Olympic medal... you have to have a hell of a lot of skill, a hell of a lot of power." %!s()

- | Afp | Getty Images

Volkswagen's top investor and controlling family shareholders on Friday issued their clearest message yet to management as the German auto giant weighs the prospect of what could be the most radical overhaul in the firm's 89-year history.

Europe's biggest carmaker has confirmed that it is looking to cut up to 100,000 jobs, twice as many as previously stated, as it seeks to counter a profit slump amid billions of euros in tariff costs and intensifying competition from Chinese car brands.

"The Volkswagen Group is at a historic crossroads," Hans Dieter Pötsch, chairman of the board of management of Porsche SE, said in a statement.

"The decisions that Volkswagen makes now will determine its future. For the sake of the company and its sustainable competitiveness, everyone must now step up and take responsibility."

Pötsch warned that the longer decisions are delayed, the bigger the firm's problems will become. "The focus must now be solely on what is necessary from a business and economic perspective. All other considerations must be secondary," he added.

Johannes Lattwein, member of the board of management responsible for finance and IT at Porsche SE, said it is "imperative" for Volkswagen to reduce excess capacity, significantly lower costs and strengthen the group's decision-making and execution capabilities.

"As the majority holder of Volkswagen AG's ordinary shares, Porsche SE therefore supports the group board of management and its proposals. Competitiveness is the goal," Lattwein said.

"Competitiveness is the goal. Every option must be considered in pursuing it. Otherwise, Volkswagen risks permanently losing ground to its international competitors," he added.

The Porsche and Piëch families control Volkswagen through their holding company, Porsche SE, which is the single largest shareholder of Volkswagen. It owns 31.9% of Volkswagen's equity and 53.3% of its voting rights.

The statements come as Porsche SE reported adjusted half-year earnings after tax of 949 million euros ($1.1 billion), reflecting a 14.5% drop compared to the same period a year ago.

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A spokesperson at Volkswagen told CNBC that the statements from Porsche SE confirm the auto giant's position "on all aspects of the presented future plan and the urgency of its implementation."

On a call after the company reported half-year results, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said the company already has a clear strategy, a concrete plan and strong teams.

"What we do not have is time. That is why we have already started work in many areas and are implementing measures from our future plan," Blume said on July 24.

"I can assure you that we have one unequivocal objective: We want to secure the long-term competitiveness and future of our unique Group," he added.

Shares of Volkswagen were little changed on Friday. The stock is down around 27% year-to-date.

'Various options'

Speaking to CNBC's Annette Weisbach late last month, Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said the auto industry has faced several challenges over the last 12 months, citing the heavy burden of tariff costs and the growing number of car exports from Beijing to Europe, among other examples.

Antlitz also addressed whether the company may look to outsource plant capacity to the defense industry to stave off possible plant closures.

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"There are various options. And look, I'm not looking for job cuts per se and I'm not looking for plant closures per se," Antlitz said on July 24.

He continued: "We want to reduce our cost structure and we want to increase productivity and increase the capacity utilization of our plants. And if there are better options then we will obviously look into that." %!s()

His answers centered on context engineering and orchestrating tools, retrieval, and AI agents into capable AI systems.

Which AI Model Is Used Is Increasingly Less Important

Many people worry about which AI model they use and experience the anxiety of running out of tokens. Jeff Dean’s answers suggest those concerns may be leading people to overlook a bigger opportunity: context engineering.

The Y Combinator interviewer, Diana Hu, said that progress is no longer about bigger models and then says that it seems to her that it’s increasingly about “context engineering.”

Dean agreed with her and expanded on the idea.

Diana Hu asked:

“AI progress used to mean just better models. You had more data, train bigger models with bigger parameters.

But increasingly in the last years or so, it’s everything around the model, not just the model size and number of parameters or more data, it’s everything around things like retrieval, tools, memory, agent tools, and it might kind of get consolidated into what people call context engineering, right?”

Jeff Dean agreed, saying that the AI model that people choose to use is just one part of whatever it is that people are doing. What matters, he said, is the various tools that the AI model can use, how it can get access to relevant information. So, rather than make the model the focus and expecting it to do things, he insists that the better way to look at it is equipping the model with the tools that are necessary to get the job done.

Dean responded:

“Yeah, I mean, I think the model is really only one piece of what you’re trying to do, which is build an overall system that can solve really interesting problems.

And that involves a model that knows how to use various tools. It maybe knows how to retrieve relevant information, maybe has a history of other information that has retrieved for past problems. And it can put information into the context of the model.”

Orchestration Of Multi-Agent Systems Is Becoming Important

Dean continued his answer, shifting directions to agent and multi-agent orchestration, which means coordinating AI agents for how they use tools, retrieve relevant information to solve complex problems.

He used the example of an AI model, with all of its training data, which is an immense amount of information, and contrasted that against an AI that is looking at a collection of information that is directly relevant to what it needs to do. The point that he leads up to is that the model is better able to do a job when it has the right level of orchestration and that this is where things are headed toward.

He continued his answer:

“And the nice thing about that is that information is really clear to the model, unlike the training data the model is trained on where it’s all kind of like trillions of tokens stirred together into a soup of hundreds of billions or trillions of parameters.

But it’s all less clear than the actual context that the model sees directly for this particular problem or use case. And then I think being able to understand what tools are available, which ones are going to help the model solve this next phase of the problem, how to decompose the problem into a sequence of of tool calls, maybe trying multiple approaches to solve the problem and seeing which ones work and be able to evaluate that.

This is the whole orchestration of complex agent and multi-agent systems that I think is going to be more and more important and super exciting times I would say.”

Jeff Dean’s Tips For Better Context Engineering

Diana Hu picked up where Dean left off on the subject of context engineering and asked him for his tips on things that people can do to become better at context engineering.

Hu asked:

“And I think the fun thing about this particular problem domain set is actually something that everyone in this room can actually do because, before, to train a model, you needed incredible amount of resources, incredible amount of access to GPUs and data.

But for context engineering, everyone here could do it.

You just need the API to something like Gemini and then work on your own setup for your own retrieval, your own tool calls, and et cetera, et cetera.

So what are some tips for everyone here? How does everyone get better at and become exceptional at context engineering?”

Dean answered that failure is a part of the journey of understanding what changes need to be made in order to get to the right outcomes in problem solving. The interesting point to his answer is that he used the example of adjusting the model to solve problems better (which is a huge undertaking) and contrasted doing that with creating better guidelines and skills.

Dean explained

“Yeah, I mean, I think a really good way to do it is to use these models and sort of harnesses and tools and so on to try to solve problems. And then sometimes you can actually see where the models are failing.

And often you can actually make the model work better and succeed at that kind of problem by not just adjusting the model parameters, which is hard to do from the outside, but from creating better guidelines for the model, writing skills for the model to know how to use different tools that would be incredibly useful for solving this particular class of problem.

And I think as you do that, you end up on this kind of improving, self-improving of the setup that you’re trying to use to solve things. And that’s a really good way to get better at understanding what additional information the model would want in order to become more capable.”

Takeaways

• AI models are becoming one component of a larger AI system.
• Context engineering is increasingly about orchestrating tools, retrieval, and AI agents.
• Better AI results often come from improving the system around the model rather than the model itself.
• Improving AI outcomes often means learning from mistakes in order to create better guidelines and better skills.

Watch The Jeff Dean Interview