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FIFA said Wednesday it had apologized for errors made over Gianni Infantino's failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and that senior staff in attendance at a crisis meeting in Morocco "reaffirmed their full support" for his presidency.
RABAT: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has received the “full support” of senior directors on Wednesday but world football’s governing body apologized for the controversy of the now-shelved plan to open the World Cup to private investment. Facing a barrage of criticism following the aborted plan, FIFA’s leadership acknowledged “errors,” while nonetheless backing under-fire Infantino following a crisis meeting in Morocco. Infantino has come under increasing pressure, even from within his organization, over his handling of the proposal, and calls for him to step down had grown since he abandoned it last Saturday. In a statement Wednesday, FIFA’s leadership acknowledged “that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media.” FIFA floated the plan, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which it proposed would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. It said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027, and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million. Instead of acting as a sweetener it produced a furious backlash, with European football’s governing body UEFA resorting on Thursday to the nuclear option of boycotting the sport’s jewel in the crown, the World Cup. By Saturday, Infantino held his hands up and withdrew the plan. “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve,” said Infantino. After Wednesday’s meeting in Rabat, the FIFA Secretary General and members of the FIFA Management Board in attendance said in a statement they
FIFA said Wednesday it had apologized for errors made over Gianni Infantino's failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and that senior staff in attendance at a summit held in Morocco «reaffirmed their full support» for his presidency.
TORONTO, Aug 5 : Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that he did not have confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the handling of his proposal to sell off commercial rights to the soccer World Cup.
LONDON: Former Real Madrid and Barcelona star Luis Figo has called for “deceitful” Gianni Infantino to quit as pressure mounts on the under-fire FIFA president. Infantino is fighting to save his job after a fierce backlash against his plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup. The 56-year-old wanted to sell a 20 percent stake in the World Cup to private equity investors through his FIFA Forward Enterprise. The plan sparked a cascade of criticism for Infantino and has been rejected by three continental confederations, forcing the FIFA chief to ditch his divisive idea. In a bid to win back support after his divisive plot, Infantino held emergency talks with other FIFA directors in Morocco on Wednesday, a source told AFP. But former Portugal forward Figo heaped pressure on Infantino as he blasted the plan and demanded his resignation. “I could write 10,000 words on the problems at FIFA. But the solution needs only three: Infantino must go,” Figo wrote in the Daily Mail on Wednesday. “I have loved football all my life.
MANCHESTER, England, Aug 5 : As FIFA President Gianni Infantino battles the biggest challenge of his decade in power, two of the most prominent voices in the revolt against him have been women.
Gianni Infantino will hold a crisis meeting with top FIFA officials in Morocco on Wednesday as he looks to shore up his position in the wake of the collapse of his gambit to sell off commercial rights to the World Cup. The FIFA president has been the subject of a torrent of criticism, and no small amount of personal abuse, since he floated the idea of the new commercial rights body to FIFA’s 211 member associations last week. The proposed sale of 20 percent of the body to private investment to raise $4.2 billion, and the involvement of a company with family links to US President Donald Trump, were just the most egregious flaws in the plan for its many critics. His backdown last Friday has done little to assuage those critics, most notably the European confederation UEFA, who accused him of selling the soul of the game and have said they no longer have confidence in his leadership. That has cast a shadow over Infantino’s reelection for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March, which looked a foregone conclusion two months ago. A handful of European federations have withdrawn their backing for the Swiss-Italian but perhaps more damaging is the messaging coming from some of Infantino’s colleagues at FIFA. FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom sent an internal memo to staff lamenting the “sad and reproachable series of events” that led to the project being “permanently abandoned,” two sources told Reuters. “Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go.
Gianni Infantino has called an emergency meeting of Fifa staff in Rabat on Wednesday following comments by Arsene Wenger that ramped up the pressure on the president, the Press Association understands.