FIFA leadership backs Gianni Infantino after crisis meeting in Morocco amid backlash

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has received the full support of the organisation’s senior executives following a crisis meeting in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday, despite widespread criticism over a now-abandoned private investment plan.

The meeting, held at FIFA’s Africa office, was attended by Infantino, Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom, and members of the FIFA Management Board. The global backlash got so tense that it put Infantino’s role as the president in a fragile position. 

FIFA leadership backs Gianni Infantino after crisis meeting in Morocco amid backlash

In a statement afterwards, FIFA said the leadership “reaffirmed their full support” for Infantino, describing him as “the only official elected by the 211 FIFA Member Associations.” Infantino, in turn, expressed his backing for Grafström and the FIFA administration. 

The gathering came after the collapse of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. The plan would have created a new commercial entity to manage rights for major tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, with the sale of a minority stake (around 20%) to private investors. FIFA had projected it could raise about $4.2 billion and offered member associations payments of up to $40 million each. 

According to FIFA, “mistakes made (regarding FFE) were acknowledged” in the meeting, which was held on Wednesday. It also revealed that an “apology had been made separately to the FIFA council and the 211 FIFA member associations”, and also added that the mistake will not be repeated. 

It has also been said that there is a meeting scheduled where a review will be conducted to present a report to the FIFA council. Meanwhile, the initiative drew sharp opposition from UEFA, which threatened to boycott FIFA competitions. CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also rejected it, while several national associations, including those of England and Wales, withdrew support for Infantino’s potential re-election. 

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