FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called an emergency meeting with senior officials in Morocco as he attempts to contain the fallout from his failed proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup’s commercial business.
The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, comes after Infantino withdrew the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise plan following strong opposition from several regional confederations. Although he abandoned the proposal, criticism of both the project and his leadership has continued to intensify.
The controversy has spread inside FIFA itself.
In a letter to staff obtained by The Athletic, FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said he had not known about the proposal before it became public.
“Individuals, unstable times and unfortunate events come and go,” Grafstrom wrote. He also described the affair as part of a series of regrettable and condemnable events inside the organisation.
FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour had already distanced himself from the project in comments to the Associated Press. He said staff had been “misled” and described FIFA Forward Enterprise as “one person’s project”, although he did not identify the individual.
Former Arsenal manager and FIFA’s chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, also publicly denied involvement.
“I need to clarify my position regarding FIFA’s recent events. I was not involved in this strategic plan in any way and first learned about the project through media reports,” Wenger said.
He added that withdrawing the proposal had been the correct decision.
“I firmly believe FIFA should remain an independent organisation that serves football with commitment, transparency and integrity.”
Pressure has also increased from outside FIFA.
Jordan Football Association president and former FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin Al Hussein criticised the organisation’s conduct, describing the situation as “blackmail” in a social media statement. He also repeated that Jordan had not supported Infantino before and would not support him now.
UEFA has already demanded Infantino’s resignation, saying it no longer has confidence in his leadership. England and Wales have also moved to withdraw their support before next year’s FIFA presidential election.
The AFC and CONCACAF have not called for a change of leadership, but both confederations have demanded explanations over the abandoned proposal and the way it was handled.
