FIFA President Gianni Infantino is holding a crisis meeting with top officials of the governing body in Morocco on Wednesday as he looks to shore up his position following the collapse of his proposal to sell off commercial rights to the World Cup.
Infantino has been the subject of a torrent of criticism since he floated the idea of the new commercial rights body to FIFA’s 211 member associations last week.
The proposed sale of 20% of the body to private investment to raise $4.2 billion, and the involvement of a company with family links to U.S. President Donald Trump, were only the most serious flaws in the plan for its many critics.
His backdown last Friday has done little to assuage those critics, most notably European soccer’s governing body UEFA, which accused him of selling the soul of the game and has said it no longer has confidence in his leadership.
That has cast a shadow over Infantino’s re-election for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March, which looked a foregone conclusion two months ago.
A handful of European federations have withdrawn their backing for the Swiss Italian but perhaps more damaging are the messages coming from Infantino’s FIFA colleagues.
Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom sent an internal memo to staff lamenting the “sad and reproachable series of events” that led to the project being “permanently abandoned”, two sources told Reuters.
“Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue …” the Swede added in the letter, which made no mention of Infantino by name.


Comments
Start the conversation about this story.