FIFA’s top leadership has formally reaffirmed its “full support” for President Gianni Infantino following the collapse of a contentious plan to sell off World Cup commercial rights. The move comes after a rare internal revolt threatened the governing body’s stability and jeopardized Infantino’s path to a fourth term at the upcoming FIFA Congress in March.
The declaration of support emerged from a crisis meeting held Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco. Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom and the management board emphasized that Infantino remains “the only official elected by the 211 FIFA Member Associations.” In turn, Infantino expressed his backing for Grafstrom and the current administrative team. The organization also issued a formal apology to its managing council and member associations regarding the now-withdrawn “FIFA Forward Enterprise” proposal, promising a full review and report on the matter.
The abandoned proposal would have offloaded a 20 percent stake in a new commercial rights entity to private investors to generate $4.2bn. The plan faced intense scrutiny due to its connection with a company linked to the family of US President Donald Trump. Acknowledging that “mistakes were made,” FIFA officials declared they would “no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity” and vowed to take “all necessary measures” to defend the organization’s reputation.
The fallout from the proposal triggered significant dissent, with UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, and Concacaf reportedly considering drastic actions, including the potential launch of rival competitions or paralyzing FIFA operations if Infantino refused to resign. UEFA has already declared a loss of confidence in his leadership and served FIFA with a “document preservation letter.” The internal pressure also led to the resignation of senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro and saw former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger distance himself from the plan. Despite the widespread opposition, Infantino retains public support from several African football associations and Qatar.
