MOROCCO: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has apologised for mistakes made in connection with controversial plans to sell stakes in major football competitions to private investors, but he will remain in office after receiving support from senior FIFA executives during a meeting in Rabat, Morocco.
Infantino convened members of FIFA’s management board at the organisation’s Africa office on Wednesday amid growing criticism of the proposal. Four hours after the meeting ended, FIFA issued a statement reaffirming its support for him.
UEFA had publicly criticised the plan over the weekend, saying it had lost confidence in Infantino and describing the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) structure as an opaque deal negotiated behind closed doors.
Criticism also came from within FIFA, including from secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, who described the episode in an internal memo as a regrettable and unacceptable series of events. Despite those concerns, Grafstrom and the management board later stated that they fully supported Infantino as president.
Infantino and Grafstrom also sent a joint letter to FIFA vice-presidents, council members, and all 211 member associations, offering a sincere apology for the errors made and promising that similar mistakes would not be repeated.
The disputed proposal would have created a new subsidiary, FFE, through which private investors could buy stakes in tournaments including the men’s and women’s World Cups. Infantino had reportedly offered member associations up to $40 million if they supported the plan.
FIFA acknowledged that mistakes were made in the way the proposal was handled and admitted that council members and national associations should not have felt excluded from the process. The organisation also recognised errors in its response after details of the proposal were leaked to the media.
At the same time, FIFA said it would not tolerate attacks on its integrity, governance, or due process and would take necessary steps to protect its reputation.
The governing body also denied a report that Infantino had promised Morocco the right to host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for political support.
(Inputs from BBC)
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