RABAT
\nFIFA president Gianni Infantino has received the \u201cfull support\u201d of senior directors on Wednesday but world football\u2019s governing body apologized for the controversy of the now-shelved plan to open the World Cup to private investment. Facing a barrage of criticism following the aborted plan, FIFA\u2019s leadership acknowledged \u201cerrors,\u201d while nonetheless backing under-fire Infantino following a crisis meeting in Morocco.
\nInfantino has come under increasing pressure, even from within his organization, over his handling of the proposal, and calls for him to step down had grown since he abandoned it last Saturday. In a statement Wednesday, FIFA\u2019s leadership acknowledged \u201cthat errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media.\u201d
\nFIFA floated the plan, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which it proposed would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.
\nIt said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA\u2019s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027, and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million. Instead of acting as a sweetener it produced a furious backlash, with European football\u2019s governing body UEFA resorting on Thursday to the nuclear option of boycotting the sport\u2019s jewel in the crown, the World Cup.
\nBy Saturday, Infantino held his hands up and withdrew the plan. \u201cOur purpose has always been \u2014 and will always be \u2014 to unite and improve,\u201d said Infantino. After Wednesday\u2019s meeting in Rabat, the FIFA Secretary General and members of the FIFA Management Board in attendance said in a statement they \u201creaffirmed their full support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as the only official elected by the 211 FIFA Member Associations.\u201d
\n\u201cThe meeting also addressed the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, where mistakes made were acknowledged,\u201d the statement said. \u201cIt was agreed that it was not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently.
\n\u201cIt was further acknowledged that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media. \u201cIn a separate letter to the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations, an apology was made for these errors together with a commitment to ensure they do not happen again.\u201d One of those believed to be at the meeting was FIFA\u2019s secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, whose internal email to staff criticizing the plan was leaked on Tuesday.
\n\u201cA review will now be conducted, and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting,\u201d the FIFA statement said. \u201cAs previously communicated, the FFE proposal, which would have been subject to the approval of the FIFA Member Associations and the FIFA Council, is now off the table.\u201d
\nLater Wednesday, Infantino \u2014 a 56-year-old Swiss lawyer who was in Morocco to celebrate last week\u2019s Feast of the Enthronement \u2014 attended the Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations match between Zambia and Malawi in Rabat. The FIFA chief was spotted alongside the president of the Moroccan football federation at the entrance to Al Medina Stadium, an media photographer observed.
\nMorocco is to co-host the 2030 World Cup and Moroccan Football chief Fouzi Lekjaa is one of the few to have publicly supported Infantino since the humiliating climbdown. Lekjaa last Saturday had praised his \u201cwise\u201d move to scrap the plan in the interests of \u201cunity and cohesion.\u201d He reiterated his backing for Infantino for \u201call the initiatives aimed at the development of world football\u201d during his 10 years in charge.
\nInfantino had been basking in the warm afterglow of a highly successful World Cup \u2014 the largest ever with 48 teams and co-hosted by three countries, Canada, Mexico and the US. His wish to serve a fourth and final term looked likely to be rubber-stamped in Rabat next March \u2014 no other candidate had come forward to challenge him. However, Tuesday last week all that faded.
\nUEFA termed the proposal to privatise the World Cup a \u201cshabby, back room, opaque deal\u201d hatched by Infantino. \u201cThe current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA\u2019s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,\u201d UEFA said in a statement.
\nNorth and Central American football\u2019s governing body CONCACAF went further still and called for \u201ca comprehensive reckoning with this presidency\u201d while slamming Infantino\u2019s \u201cpoor governance and leadership.\u201d On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country co-hosted the 2026 World Cup, said he no longer had confidence in Infantino\u2019s ability to lead FIFA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RABAT FIFA president Gianni Infantino has received the \u201cfull support\u201d of senior directors on Wednesday but world football\u2019s governing body apologized for the controversy of the now-shelved plan to open the World Cup to private investment. Facing a barrage of criticism following the aborted plan, FIFA\u2019s leadership acknowledged \u201cerrors,\u201d while nonetheless backing under-fire Infantino following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-560529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n