Gianni Infantino has apologised to FIFA’s 211 member associations and moved to reassert control after a failed plan to sell World Cup commercial rights sparked the biggest challenge to his leadership.
FIFA admitted mistakes on Wednesday following a crisis meeting in Rabat, Morocco. It formally withdrew a proposal to sell a 20% stake in a new commercial rights entity to private investors, a deal worth about $4.2 billion that was scrapped last Friday after strong opposition.
The backlash put Infantino under fire, with questions raised about his re-election in March. But the FIFA Secretary General and management board members present in Rabat issued a statement reaffirming “full support” for the president. Infantino in turn backed the secretary general and staff for delivering his vision.
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In an internal memo, Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom described a “sad and reproachable series of events” that led to the project being “permanently abandoned.” The memo, seen by Reuters, did not name Infantino. Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour had earlier told staff they were “deceived,” calling it the project of one person.
In a separate letter to Council members and associations, FIFA apologised for the errors and promised a review. “It was not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA member associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently,” the statement said.
FIFA also underlined that Infantino, president since 2016, is “the only official elected by the 211 FIFA member associations.” With the proposal withdrawn, it said it would “no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process.”
