Gianni Infantino calls emergency meeting after private investment plan collapse
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, scheduled after the weekend, will involve FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and members of the management board. The move follows public comments from former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, who stated he was “not involved” in plans to seek private investment in the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). Wenger described the decision to abandon the project as “absolutely necessary and beyond question” and reaffirmed his belief in an independent FIFA.
The FFE proposal became public last week after reports revealed plans for FIFA to create a company to handle the commercial and operational sides of its tournaments and sell a 20 per cent stake to private investors. The idea met strong opposition from several confederations. UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rejected the plan. UEFA reportedly threatened to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the proposal was not withdrawn. FIFA scrapped the project on Saturday.
The decision has not ended the controversy. UEFA has said it has “lost confidence” in Infantino. Several national associations, including those of England and Wales, have withdrawn support for him. Members of the FIFA Council are reportedly working to secure the 19 votes needed to request a meeting that would hold the president accountable over the FFE proposal and his handling of the Folarin Balogun case. Opponents are also considering a “governance boycott” if that effort fails.
Grafstrom has written to FIFA staff describing the past week as a “sad and reproachable series of events” that ended with the permanent abandonment of the project. He acknowledged employees had been placed in the middle of turmoil and assured them they would be protected from the political context.
The latest developments follow the resignation of Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro. Infantino retains support among many African, South American and Oceanian associations. The position of Asian members could prove decisive. Some, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Lebanon, have expressed backing. Jordan has taken a different stance, with its association president accusing FIFA of “blackmail” over alleged funding conditions linked to a vote for Infantino. FIFA has declined to comment.
UEFA is also actively considering legal action and has instructed officials to preserve documents related to the abandoned project.
The episode exposes a structural tension inside world football’s governing body: the desire to generate new commercial revenue through private capital versus the insistence of major confederations on institutional independence. Abandoning the plan removed the immediate threat of a boycott, yet the loss of confidence and the push for accountability remain. How Infantino manages the emergency meeting and the wider governance challenge will determine whether the organisation can restore internal stability or faces prolonged institutional friction.
