FIFA president Gianni Infantino has apologised for “errors” in a failed plan to sell competition stakes to private investors but will remain in his role after senior executives reaffirmed their backing during a Wednesday meeting in Morocco.
Infantino convened the management board at FIFA’s Africa office in Rabat following mounting criticism over the shelved FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which UEFA had condemned as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal.” Four hours after the meeting, FIFA issued a statement backing the president.
Secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, who had internally labeled the episode “a sad and reproachable series of errors” in a Tuesday staff memo, joined the board in “reaffirming full support” for Infantino post-meeting.
In a joint signed letter to vice-presidents, council members, and 211 national associations, Infantino and Grafstrom wrote: “We sincerely apologise for our errors and commit to them not happening again.”
The FFE proposal had offered each association $40m (£30m) for backing private investment in World Cups and other tournaments. FIFA acknowledged Wednesday that “mistakes” were made in excluding council and members from the process, and that “errors” followed the plan’s leak to media on 28 July.
However, FIFA also warned it “will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process.”
Separately, FIFA denied a Times report that Infantino promised Morocco the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support, calling the claim “false and misleading.” A venue decision will come “in due course.”
