FIFA backs embattled president Infantino following crisis meeting
World football governing body, FIFA, has reaffirmed its support for its embattled president, Gianni Infantino, following a crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday amid calls for him to resign.
FIFA also apologised to its member associations for mistakes made over the now-shelved proposal to open the World Cup to private investment.
“A review will now be conducted, and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting,” the FIFA statement said.
The controversial plan to sell a 20 per cent stake in a new commercial rights entity provoked a fierce backlash and was withdrawn last Friday.
It also drew fierce criticism because of the involvement of a company with family links to US President Donald Trump.
European football’s powerful governing body, UEFA, termed the proposal to privatise the World Cup a “shabby, backroom, opaque deal” hatched by Infantino.
The FIFA president has been facing increasing pressure, including from two senior FIFA officials, since the proposal was announced, amid growing calls for him to step down.
This backlash raised questions over his re-election as president next March, with both UEFA and Americas’ CONCACAF football body saying they had lost confidence in him.
The North and Central American governing body called for “a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency” while slamming Infantino’s “poor governance and leadership”.
The association of European soccer leagues, including the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A, on Wednesday called for a reform of governance at the world body.
“Now more than ever, FIFA requires governance reform that ensures that all relevant stakeholders have a formal role in decisions that shape the future of our game,” they said.
European Leagues hit out at the possibility of further expanding the World Cup to 64 teams and said “FIFA must not be allowed to continue taking unilaterally disruptive decisions”.
It said that until there was reform it would reject the “expansion or creation” of FIFA competitions.
Also on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country co-hosted the 2026 World Cup with the US and Mexico, said he no longer had confidence in Infantino’s ability to lead FIFA.
He had been expected to stand unopposed for a fourth and final term in office at the March elections.
But Infantino still has plenty of allies, particularly in parts of the world where poor associations rely on FIFA’s largesse to operate.
