FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, will hold a crisis meeting with top officials in Morocco on Wednesday as he seeks to shore up his position in the wake of the collapse of his plan to sell off commercial rights to the World Cup.
Since Infantino floated the idea of the new commercial rights body to FIFA’s 211 member associations last week, he has been the subject of a torrent of criticism – and no small amount of personal abuse.
Many critics found the most shocking aspect of the plan to be the proposal to sell 20% of the body to private investment in an effort to raise $4.2 billion and the involvement of a company with family ties to US President Donald Trump.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (L) with US President Donaldo Trump.
His climbdown last Friday has done little to appease those critics, chief among them the European confederation, UEFA, who accused him of selling the soul of the game and have declared they have no confidence left in his leadership.
That has cast a shadow over Infantino’s bid for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March, which looked like a foregone conclusion two months ago.
A few European federations have pulled their support for the Swiss-Italian but perhaps more damaging is the messaging coming from some of Infantino’s colleagues at FIFA.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom sent an internal memo to staff bemoaning the “sad and reproachable series of events” that led to the project being “permanently abandoned”, two sources said.
“People, shaky times and unfortunate incidents come and go. The institution, its mission and its accountability to world football continue …” the Swede added in the letter that did not name Infantino.
His comments mirrored those of FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour, who said last week that staff had been “deceived” over the plan which he described as “the project of one person”.
Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro quit in protest of the plan last week and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger distanced himself from it on Tuesday.
FIFA’s global football development chief Wenger said the withdrawal of the proposal was “absolutely necessary” but he was not involved in drafting it.
SURVIVE SEVEN MONTHS TO ELECTION
Infantino has spent the last week in Morocco, who will co-host the next World Cup in 2030 and whose football association have already declared their continued support for him.
Wednesday’s meeting at FIFA’s Africa office in Sale, across the Bou Regreg river from the Moroccan capital Rabat, is likely to commence by ensuring that Infantino at least survives the seven months until the election.
An Extraordinary Congress shall be convened if 43 or more member associations of FIFA formally request the calling of such a Congress in writing.
According to a report in Monday’s Times of London, UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are determined to force Infantino out of office, by paralysing FIFA and even starting up their own competitions if he refuses to go.
CONCACAF, the AFC and FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. UEFA refused to comment.
CONCACAF, which runs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the AFC have supported UEFA, but not all national associations will take their cues from their confederation.
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In the face of the AFC’s stance, Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Indonesia have declared their loyalty to Infantino.
Infantino has always had a lot of support away from the game’s traditional heartlands, where impoverished football associations depend on FIFA’s largesse to operate.
His proposal was pitched at those associations with promises of a dividend of $20 million to $40 million at the start of next year for each national body which supported the plan.
AFRICAN OFFICIALS BACK INFANTINO
Infantino turns to the continent’s 54 members for backing as top African football administrators send messages of support The African confederation (CAF) has not yet made a decision.
Next Wednesday the executive committee of Oceania, the smallest and poorest confederation, will meet to discuss their stance.
New Zealand Football boss Andrew Pragnell said on Tuesday: “I think it’s going to be really interesting for the international football community over the next couple of weeks.
“It’s really important for a country like New Zealand to have a lot of contact with its confederation. It helps when you move with your confederation.”
Under FIFA rules, the vote of San Marino, whose men’s team is ranked 211th, last in the world rankings, is equal to that of World Cup winners Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain.
One clear advantage for Infantino in his bid to extend his presidency to 2031 is the lack of a clear candidate to stand against him in March’s election.
Jordan FA President Prince Ali bin Hussein has twice run for the post, losing to Sepp Blatter in 2015 and finishing third behind Infantino and AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa the following year.
Prince Ali said on Tuesday he had taken his position on the current crisis, accusing FIFA of “blackmail” and said it had offered to help solve problems in return for backing Infantino.
Prince Ali wrote on social media that “We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now.
