Gianni Infantino has summoned senior Fifa officials to a crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday as he fights to save his presidency.
It comes after the embattled Fifa president suffered another bruising day on Tuesday, with Fifa’s secretary general Mattias Grafstrom becoming the latest Infantino ally to criticise his plans to sell off commercial stakes in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors.
open image in galleryGrafstrom called Infantino’s now abandoned World Cup sell-off plans as “a sad and reproachable series of events” in an internal email to Fifa staff on Tuesday, while Arsene Wenger, Fifa’s chief of global football development, distanced himself from the proposals and said the decision to scrap them was “absolutely necessary”.
After Uefa declared it had lost confidence in Infantino in a scathing rebuke on Saturday, a growing list of national associations have also withdrawn support for the Fifa president. In a further twist on Wednesday, the president of the Jordan FA publicly accused Infantino of “blackmail”.
Infantino, who has been posting messages of support from some national associations on his personal Instagram, has yet to appear publicly since Fifa announced that it was scrapping its attempts to sell off shares in the World Cup to private investors in the early hours on Saturday morning.
The Swiss official, who plans to stand for re-election next March, has been in Morocco since last week, when he attended an event to celebrate the 27th anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s ascension to the throne. Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup, along with Spain and Portugal, and wants to stage the final.
As well as secretary general Grafstrom and Wenger, Infantino came under further pressure from two other senior Fifa figures last week. Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, quit in protest of the World Cup sell-off proposals, before Kevin Lamour, Fifa’s chief operating officer, said staff had been “deceived” over the plans.
Infantino may attempt to convince senior Fifa figures that he can guide the governing body through its latest crisis, but the attacks on his leadership and the calls for greater transparency have been unrelenting in the days since his secret World Cup sell-off plans spectacularly unravelled.
Swedish official Grafstrom, who is one of Fifa’s top bosses, said in his email to Fifa staff while the turmoil surrounding Fifa is “difficult to comprehend and accept…. individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go”.
Former Arsenal manager Wenger claimed to have no knowledge of the plans before reports of Fifa selling off stakes in its tournaments to private investors emerged in the media. He said that Fifa has to serve the game with “commitment, transparency, and integrity”.
open image in galleryJordan FA president Prince Ali bin Hussein then accused Fifa president Gianni Infantino of “blackmail” after his foiled plans to sell stakes in the World Cup. Fifa is aware of Prince Ali’s comments and has so far declined to respond.
“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values,” Prince Ali posted on X, while detailing a myriad of problems Jordan have faced over the last few months. “We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now. But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”
The Football Association (FA) are set to follow the Football Association of Wales withdrawing support for Infantino publicly, while Uefa’s opposition to Infantino’s plans was supported by two other confederations, in Asia and Concacaf.
Uefa confirmed that it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership after he went back on his plans, criticising the “shabby, backroom deal”, and has written to the Fifa president confirming it is “actively considering” legal action in regard to the sell-off scheme.
However, five influential African football figures on Wednesday publicly offered their support to Infantino. Leading members of the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) executive committee, including CAF Vice President Fouzi Lekjaa from Morocco, have affirmed their backing for Infantino.
The federations of Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Indonesia have also declared continued support for Infantino, while Fifa dismissed as “pure fiction” a report that Infantino sought support from US President Donald Trump’s administration to stay in power.