Gianni Infantino, who was first elected Fifa president in 2016, has received a show of support from Fifa’s management board after a turbulent period surrounding a controversial private investment proposal. Following a Wednesday meeting, secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and the management board issued a statement reaffirming their full support for Infantino as president — despite Grafstrom himself having described the situation in an internal memo to staff on Tuesday as “a sad and reproachable series of events”.
The controversy centres on the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, through which Infantino had offered all associations $40m (£30m) if they backed a plan for private investment in Fifa tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, through a new subsidiary. Fifa acknowledged during the Wednesday meeting that “mistakes” regarding FFE were made and that it was “not the intention” for the Fifa council and member associations to “feel excluded from the process”. The governing body also admitted that “errors were made after the proposal was leaked to media”, with the Times having broken the story of Infantino’s plan on 28 July.
Infantino and Grafstrom signed a joint letter — seen by the BBC — sent to Fifa’s vice-presidents, council and 211 member associations in which they “sincerely apologise” for their errors and “commit to them not happening again”. The pair were subsequently pictured together attending a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match in Rabat. Fifa’s statement also warned that the organisation “will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process” and will take measures to protect its reputation.
Criticism has not been limited to internal voices. Uefa said at the weekend that it has lost confidence in Infantino, describing the FFE proposal as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal”. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country co-hosted the recent World Cup with the United States and Mexico, also stated that he no longer has confidence in the Fifa president.
Fifa separately denied a Times report claiming Infantino had promised Morocco it would host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for its support. The governing body called the claim “false and misleading”, adding that a decision on where to hold the final — with the tournament also hosted by Spain and Portugal — will be made “in due course”. The week’s events represent what has been described as perhaps the biggest controversy of Infantino’s 10-year tenure.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
