Gianni Infantino is due to face FIFA’s senior executives at a crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday as the fallout from his abandoned attempt to sell a stake in the governing body’s commercial operations threatens his authority and re-election bid. The FIFA president has summoned members of the organisation’s management board to its Africa office near Rabat, where he is expected to seek support from the officials responsible for FIFA’s day-to-day functioning.
The gathering comes after several influential figures within FIFA publicly or internally distanced themselves from the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise project. The plan would have created a new commercial rights body and sold a 20 per cent stake to private investors to raise around $4.2 billion.
Infantino withdrew the proposal last Friday following fierce opposition, but the retreat has failed to contain the damage. Wednesday’s meeting is therefore likely to focus on how the project was developed, why senior officials appeared to have been excluded and whether Infantino can continue to command their confidence.
Infantino faces resistance from within FIFA
Secretary general Mattias Grafstrom described the controversy in an internal message to FIFA staff as a “sad and reproachable series of events”, adding that employees had been thrown into turmoil that was “difficult to comprehend and accept”.
Chief operating officer Kevin Lamour went further, describing the proposal as “the project of one person” and saying FIFA’s administration had been “deceived”. Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, also insisted that he had not been involved in drafting the project and had learned about it through media reports. “The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question,” Wenger said, stressing the need for FIFA to operate with transparency and integrity.
{{/usCountry}}Chief operating officer Kevin Lamour went further, describing the proposal as “the project of one person” and saying FIFA’s administration had been “deceived”. Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, also insisted that he had not been involved in drafting the project and had learned about it through media reports. “The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question,” Wenger said, stressing the need for FIFA to operate with transparency and integrity.
{{/usCountry}}Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro has already resigned after opposing the plan. Cordeiro called it “a bad deal for football” that would “mortgage football’s future”, while questioning the lack of oversight, consultation and clarity surrounding what private investors would ultimately receive.
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The interventions mean Infantino will be addressing executives who may expect more than an explanation. He could be pressed to accept responsibility, introduce stronger governance safeguards and guarantee that similarly significant projects cannot again be advanced without proper internal scrutiny.
Pressure is also building outside FIFA. UEFA and Concacaf have said they have lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership, while the Asian Football Confederation has demanded institutional reform. Five European associations, including England, have formally withdrawn their support for his re-election in March. Infantino continues to receive backing from several associations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, meaning his immediate removal remains unlikely. No clear rival has yet emerged to challenge him either.
His first objective in Morocco will be to produce at least the appearance of unity within FIFA’s leadership. An apology, promises of reform or greater internal oversight could follow. But after senior executives openly broke ranks, Infantino must now demonstrate that he retains not only enough votes to survive, but also enough authority to continue running FIFA.