Rabat, August 6: FIFA President Gianni Infantino has acknowledged mistakes in attempts to sell the World Cup to private investors and has issued an apology for his errors. However, during an emergency meeting in Morocco, senior officials expressed their support for Infantino to remain in his position.
Infantino was compelled to retract his plan to establish the “FIFA Forward Enterprise” (FFE), a company intended to manage the commercial and operational aspects of FIFA tournaments. This proposal faced significant opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and various national associations, as well as criticism from within FIFA itself.
Matthias Grafström, the Secretary General present at the meeting, wrote in an internal memo to FIFA staff that the situation represents a tragic and disgraceful series of events. Following the mounting criticism, Infantino requested senior leaders from football’s governing body to attend the emergency meeting in Rabat.
After the meeting, a statement from FIFA’s Secretary General and members of the FIFA Management Board demonstrated full support for Infantino. He is the only official elected by the 211 FIFA member associations. The statement noted, “In return, the FIFA president affirmed his commitment to fulfilling his vision and plans alongside the FIFA Secretary General and administration team.” He praised their hard work and reiterated his support.
FIFA stated that the emergency meeting also addressed the FFE proposal, acknowledging the mistakes made. It was agreed that the FIFA Council and member associations should not feel excluded from the process, which should have been handled differently. There were also errors following the media leak of the proposal.
FIFA issued a separate letter apologizing to the FIFA Council and all member nations for these mistakes, promising that such errors would not occur again. The organization stated, “A review will now be conducted, and a report will be presented at the next scheduled meeting of the FIFA Council.”
However, the statement also emphasized that with the withdrawal of the project, FIFA will not tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance, or proper processes. It pledged to take all necessary steps to protect its name and reputation. The statement concluded, “There are always lessons to be learned, and FIFA will continue to improve its processes based on this experience. It is essential to stress that mistakes were made, but everything was done in full compliance with FIFA’s regulatory framework.”
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