Gianni Infantino has apologised for “errors” he made in controversial plans to sell off stakes in competitions to private investors, but will remain Fifa president after receiving the backing of senior executives in a meeting in Morocco.
Infantino summoned members of the management board to Fifa’s Africa office in Rabat on Wednesday following mounting criticism of his aborted proposals, with world football’s governing body releasing a statement of support four hours after the meeting ended.
European football’s governing body Uefa said at the weekend that it has lost confidence in Infantino, calling the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal a “shabby, back room, opaque deal”.
Much criticism has come from within Fifa, including secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, who was at Wednesday’s meeting. In an internal memo sent to Fifa staff on Tuesday, he wrote that the situation is “a sad and reproachable series of events”.
However, in a statement following the meeting, Grafstrom and the managament board “reaffirmed their full support” for Infantino as president.
Infantino and Grafstrom also sent a signed letter – seen by the BBC – to Fifa’s vice-presidents, council and 211 member associations saying they “sincerely apologise” for their errors and “commit to them not happening again”.
The two were pictured attending a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match together in Rabat after the meeting.
Infantino had offered all associations $40m (£30m) if they backed a proposal for private investment in its tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, through a new subsidiary, FFE.
Fifa said that during Wednesday’s meeting “mistakes” regarding FFE were “acknowledged”, saying it was “not the intention” for the Fifa council and members association to “feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently”.
The governing body added it “acknowledged that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media” – with the Times breaking the story of Infantino’s plan on 28 July.
However, the statement also said the organisation “will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation”.
Earlier, Fifa denied a story in the Times that Infantino had promised Morocco it will host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for its support.
Fifa said it was a “false and misleading” claim and that a decision on where to hold the final, with the tournament also hosted by Spain and Portugal, will be made “in due course”.
