FIFA PRESIDENT GIANNI INFANTINO CALLS EMERGENCY FIFA MEETING AS PRESSURE ON HIM MOUNTS. (PHOTO).

 FIFA president Gianni Infantino calls Emergency FIFA Meeting as pressure on him mounts

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called an emergency meeting of senior staff in Rabat, Morocco, amid growing pressure over the organisation’s abandoned plan to bring private investment into a company responsible for running its tournaments.

 

The meeting involves FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and members of the organisation’s management board. The development follows comments from former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, who broke his silence over the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.

Wenger said he was “not involved” in plans to seek private investment in FFE, while describing FIFA’s decision to abandon the project as “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.

He also reaffirmed his support for an independent FIFA, saying: “I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity.”

The FFE proposal emerged publicly after reports revealed plans for FIFA to establish a company to oversee the commercial and operational sides of its tournaments. The proposal to sell a 20 per cent stake in the company to private investors triggered strong opposition from several football confederations.

UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) all rejected the plan, while UEFA reportedly threatened to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the proposal was not withdrawn.

FIFA eventually scrapped the project. However, the decision has not ended the controversy surrounding Infantino. UEFA has said it has “lost confidence” in the FIFA president, while several national associations, including those of England and Wales, have withdrawn their support for him.

The Scottish Football Association is also understood to be aligned with UEFA’s position. Members of the FIFA Council are reportedly working to secure the 19 votes needed to request a meeting to hold Infantino accountable over the FFE proposal and his handling of the Folarin Balogun case. If they fail to secure the required majority, or if Infantino rejects a request for such a meeting, opponents are considering a “governance boycott” that could make it difficult for FIFA to function effectively.

Grafström has also contacted FIFA employees over the turmoil, describing the events of the past week as a “sad and reproachable series of events” that had thankfully ended with the project being “permanently abandoned”.

In his message to staff, Grafström acknowledged that employees had been “thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept”. He assured staff that they would be “defended and safeguarded from the political context we currently experience”.

Grafström added: “Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue.”The latest developments come after the resignation of Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro.

 

Infantino is expected to retain considerable support from African, South American, and Oceanian football associations, while the position of Asian members could prove decisive in determining his future.

Some Asian associations, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and Lebanon, have expressed support for the FIFA president.

Jordan, however, has taken a markedly different position. Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein accused FIFA of “blackmail” in a post on X, alleging that the organisation told him during the World Cup that money allegedly owed to his association would be paid if he voted for Infantino.

FIFA is aware of the allegations but has so far declined to comment. Meanwhile, UEFA has told Infantino that it is “actively considering” legal action over the FFE proposal. Lawyers acting for the European governing body have reportedly instructed Infantino and other FIFA officials to identify, locate, and preserve documents connected to the abandoned project.