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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has convened an emergency meeting of senior officials in Rabat, Morocco, as pressure continues to mount over the governing body’s abandoned plan to attract private investment into a company established to manage its global tournaments.
The meeting, reportedly scheduled after the weekend, will bring together FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom and members of the organisation’s management board.
The latest development follows public criticism from FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsène Wenger, who distanced himself from the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
Wenger said he played no role in the plan to seek private investment and described FIFA’s decision to abandon the project as “absolutely necessary and beyond question.”
He also reaffirmed his support for an independent governing body, insisting FIFA must continue to serve football “with commitment, transparency and integrity.”
The controversy erupted after reports by The Times and the Financial Times revealed plans to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise to oversee the commercial and operational management of FIFA competitions.
The proposal included selling a 20 per cent stake in the company to private investors, triggering strong opposition from several continental football confederations.
UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) all rejected the proposal, while UEFA reportedly threatened to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the plan proceeded.
FIFA eventually abandoned the project on Saturday, but the decision has done little to calm the growing backlash against Infantino’s leadership.
UEFA has since declared it has “lost confidence” in the FIFA president, while the football associations of England and Wales have withdrawn their support, with Scotland also understood to be backing UEFA’s position.
Members of the FIFA Council are reportedly attempting to secure the 19 votes required to convene a meeting to hold Infantino accountable over the failed proposal and his handling of the Folarin Balogun matter.
Should those efforts fail, officials opposed to the FIFA president are said to be considering a “governance boycott” that could significantly disrupt the organisation’s operations.
Grafstrom also addressed FIFA employees, describing the past week’s developments as a “sad and reproachable series of events” while confirming the project had been “permanently abandoned.”
He acknowledged that staff had been caught in an unprecedented crisis but assured them they would be protected from the political fallout surrounding the controversy.
The turmoil follows the resignation of Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, last week, adding to the growing uncertainty within world football’s governing body.
While Infantino is expected to retain strong backing from football associations across Africa, South America and Oceania, the position of Asian member associations is now viewed as critical to his political future.
Although countries including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Lebanon have publicly expressed support for Infantino, Jordan has taken the opposite position.
Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein accused FIFA of “blackmail,” alleging that officials suggested funds owed to his federation would be released if he voted for Infantino during the World Cup.
FIFA has acknowledged the allegation but has declined to comment, while UEFA is reportedly considering legal action and has instructed its lawyers to preserve all documents linked to the abandoned FFE proposal.
