FIFA president Gianni Infantino arrived at the Africa regional office in Sale, Morocco, on Wednesday for an emergency meeting with senior officials after plans to sell £3.1 billion in World Cup stakes leaked last week.
A car was seen carrying Infantino to the crisis talks. The Swiss administrator scrapped the proposals following widespread opposition and an internal rebellion at FIFA, but he faces mounting pressure to resign.
UEFA and CONCACAF, the continental body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, called for Infantino to step down. Europe declared a lack of confidence in the FIFA president.
Jordan FA accuses president of blackmail
Pressure grew further after Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali bin Hussein accused Infantino of blackmail, making Jordan the first Asian nation to rebel.
If all UEFA and CONCACAF nations follow the stance set by their continental bodies, Jordan is the 91st member association to move against the president. Deposing Infantino requires 106 nations.
The Moroccan summit comes hours after former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan star Luis Figo wrote an explosive 600-word article in Daily Mail Sport demanding Infantino resign.
Figo, a 53-year-old Portuguese legend who won 127 caps for his country, initially backed Infantino in 2015. He now brands the disgraced executive a "relic who should have no part in football's future."
Luis Figo publishes scathing criticism
"I could write 10,000 words on the problems at FIFA. But the solution needs only three: Infantino must go," the former FIFA presidential candidate wrote.
Figo accused Infantino of a "litany of abuses." This included the now-infamous suspension of the ban behind Folarin Balogun's red card, and the half-time show at the World Cup final which "broke the laws of the game."
"Infantino has debased the office of FIFA President that he promised to elevate," Figo wrote. "He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve...he should go. Now."
Internal FIFA backlash grows
Inside FIFA, chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said he was "deceived" by the project. Arsene Wenger, chief of global football development, distanced himself from the hastily dropped plan.
According to insiders, staff morale is "rock bottom." Secretary general Mattias Grafstrom sent an internal email to employees citing "a sad and reproachable series of events" and pointing out that "individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go."
The Times reported that Infantino's allies tried unsuccessfully to persuade "FIFA legends" to publicly support him. These legends are former international players paid to appear at the governing body's events.
Private equity and lack of transparency
Figo wrote that he has loved football all his life and as a professional player for 20 years he had met some rogues. "But what I have seen exposed in the last ten days is the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed," he added.
"The man who would do that, the man who would try to force through such major changes just to enrich himself and his friends, is a relic of the game's past and should have no part in its future."
Rounding on Infantino for a lack of transparency, Figo asked: "If it was such a good idea, why not tell your members when you had them all in a room before the World Cup Final?"
"If it was such a robust plan, why not tell your members the risks as well as what you describe as the benefits? If the scheme was a no-brainer, why not be honest about the fact that it was going to give you a $30m a year job at the end of it?"
Wealth and potential successors
"None of this was done. Because it's not a good idea," Figo wrote. "It's not robust when you fail to be transparent about the crippling returns that private equity always seek."
"It's not bold when you fail to explain that once you have sold your share it is gone forever and you have disinherited your successors from ownership of the World Cup," Figo added.
"And it's not honest when you fail to mention that, after you have delivered the head of the World Cup on a platter to your mates in DC, they are going to give you a job worth five times your current salary."
Highlighting the organisation's staggering wealth, Figo asked how many shares the $5 billion in its reserves "could buy in this grubby, underhand plot."
Figo is viewed by many as a potential successor to UEFA head Aleksandr Ceferin, who is leading the war against Infantino. Figo and Prince Ali both previously stood against former FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the 2015 elections.
Figo ultimately withdrew from the process, while Prince Ali pulled out after the second round of voting. Blatter announced his resignation four days after re-election amid a vast backlash.
