Gianni Infantino will remain president of the International Association Football Federation after receiving full support from senior federation executives during a meeting in Rabat, Morocco. The decision follows intense criticism over his failed effort to transfer FIFA commercial and organizational activities to private investors.
FIFA President Infantino and FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafstroem sent a joint letter to vice presidents, Council members, and 211 national member federations. The leadership apologized for the errors made and committed that such mistakes would not happen again.
Opposition to commercial rights proposal
Infantino convened members of the FIFA Board of Directors at the offices of the African confederation in Rabat following widespread backlash against the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. The initiative outlined plans to sell the commercial and operational rights of FIFA to private investors, but executives abandoned the scheme after heavy pushback.
The Union of European Football Associations announced last weekend that it no longer trusted the FIFA president. The European governing body criticized the FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative, describing the proposal as a rushed and opaque deal negotiated behind the scenes.
Internal dissent and executive resolution
Criticism of the plan extended inside FIFA headquarters prior to the Rabat meeting. General Secretary Mattias Grafstroem expressed concern about the initiative before attending the Wednesday session, having sent an internal memo to federation staff on Tuesday in which he described the events as a sad and blameworthy sequence.
Following the conclusion of the Rabat meeting, Grafstroem and members of the Board of Directors issued a joint statement. They reaffirmed their full support for Infantino to remain as president of FIFA.
