FIFA leadership has reaffirmed its 'full support' for President Gianni Infantino, just days after he was forced to abandon a plan to sell World Cup commercial rights, a move that triggered an unprecedented uprising within world football's governing body.
The declaration came after an emergency meeting in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday. The meeting was convened following pressure from UEFA and other continental confederations that threatened to derail Infantino's bid for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in March.
In a statement, FIFA said Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom and members of the executive board reiterated their support for Infantino, described as 'the only official elected by FIFA's 211 member associations.' Infantino also expressed similar backing for Grafstrom and FIFA's governance.
Officials acknowledged 'mistakes were made' regarding the withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which sought to sell 20% of a new commercial entity to private investors to raise $4.2 billion. The plan was linked to a company with family ties to U.S. President Donald Trump.
FIFA said it had issued an apology in a separate letter to the board and member associations, and would conduct a review and report. The organization also declared it would 'no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity' and take 'all necessary measures' to protect its reputation.
The meeting followed days of public discord. UEFA said it had lost confidence in Infantino's leadership and sent FIFA a 'letter of preservation of documents.' Infantino's senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned in protest, and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also publicly distanced himself from the plan.
According to The Times of London, UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation had prepared to paralyze FIFA or form rival competitions if Infantino did not step back, though some confederations such as Qatar and several African associations remained publicly supportive of him.
