FIFA has backed President Gianni Infantino after the football body admitted mistakes over its abandoned plan to allow private investment in the World Cup, a proposal that triggered widespread criticism from key stakeholders.

The FIFA leadership gave Infantino its full support on Wednesday after a crisis meeting in Morocco, where officials reviewed the controversy surrounding the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

The plan, which was unveiled after being leaked to the media, was designed to create a commercial subsidiary that would manage competitions including the World Cup and Club World Cup, with FIFA projecting it could raise up to $4.2 billion.

Under the proposal, FIFA’s 211 member associations would have received a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027, while funding allocations for the 2027-2030 cycle could have increased from $8 million to $20 million.

However, the initiative sparked a backlash, with European football governing body UEFA strongly criticising the process and questioning FIFA’s handling of the proposal.

UEFA described the move as a “shabby, back-room, opaque deal”, while CONCACAF called for a review of Infantino’s leadership, accusing FIFA of poor governance.

Following the criticism, Infantino withdrew the proposal last Saturday, saying the decision was taken in the interest of unity.

After Wednesday’s meeting, FIFA acknowledged that errors were made in the handling of the proposal and apologised to its Council members and member associations.

“The meeting also addressed the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, where mistakes made were acknowledged,” FIFA said in a statement.

The organisation said the process should have been handled differently and assured stakeholders that steps would be taken to prevent similar situations in the future.

FIFA also confirmed that the FFE proposal was no longer being considered and that a review would be carried out, with a report to be presented at the next FIFA Council meeting.

Despite the controversy, FIFA’s Secretary General and members of the Management Board reaffirmed their support for Infantino, describing him as the only official elected by all 211 FIFA member associations.

The crisis has increased pressure on Infantino, whose expected fourth and final term had appeared certain after the successful expansion of the 2026 World Cup involving Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The FIFA president was in Morocco on Wednesday, where he attended a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match between Zambia and Malawi as the controversy surrounding his leadership continued