Gianni Infantino convened emergency talks with senior FIFA directors at the organisation’s Africa regional office in Salé, Morocco, on Wednesday, as pressure on the football governing body’s president continued to mount following his abrupt withdrawal of a controversial private investment proposal.
A source confirmed the meeting to AFP. Among those believed to have attended was FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafström, whose internal email criticising the shelved plan was leaked the previous day, adding a fresh layer of embarrassment to an already turbulent week for FIFA’s leadership.
The proposal had sought to create a commercial subsidiary called the FIFA Forward Enterprise and raise up to 4.2 billion US dollars, based on a valuation of 20 billion dollars for the new entity. Each of FIFA’s 211 member associations was offered a one-off payment of 20 million dollars. Rather than generating goodwill, it triggered a fierce backlash. UEFA threatened to boycott the World Cup entirely and by the following Saturday Infantino had abandoned the plan.
Grafström’s leaked email characterised the episode as a sad and reproachable series of events and noted that institutions and their responsibilities outlast individuals and unstable moments. UEFA went further in its public statement, describing the proposal as a shabby, back-room, opaque deal and declaring that Infantino had lost not only its confidence but that of a broad section of the football community. CONCACAF called for a comprehensive reckoning with the presidency, citing what it described as poor governance and leadership.
Infantino was in Morocco to attend the country’s Feast of the Enthronement celebrations, making the location diplomatically convenient. Morocco is a co-host of the 2030 World Cup and Moroccan football chief Fouzi Lekjaa has been among the few to publicly back Infantino through the crisis, praising his decision to scrap the plan as a wise move in the interests of unity. Lekjaa also reiterated his support for all initiatives aimed at developing world football during Infantino’s decade in charge.
Before the controversy broke, Infantino had appeared on course for an uncontested fourth term, with FIFA’s congress scheduled for Rabat next March and no challenger yet declared. Whether Wednesday’s emergency discussions did anything to stabilise his position remains unclear.
