FIFA has reaffirmed its confidence in president Gianni Infantino despite widespread criticism over a failed proposal to attract private investment into the organisation’s biggest football competitions.
The decision was announced after a FIFA Management Board meeting held on Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco, where senior officials admitted mistakes were made in handling the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal and formally apologised to the organisation’s 211 member associations.
The FFE initiative was designed to establish a new commercial subsidiary responsible for managing FIFA’s flagship tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. FIFA estimated the venture could be valued at approximately $20 billion and attract up to $4.2 billion in private investment.
According to the governing body, the plan would have enabled every FIFA member association to receive a one-time payment of $20 million in early 2027. It also proposed increasing financial support for member associations from $8 million to $20 million during the 2027–2030 funding cycle.
However, the proposal sparked intense opposition from several football governing bodies.
European football body UEFA strongly criticised the plan, describing it as an opaque arrangement that lacked transparency. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) also questioned Infantino’s leadership, calling for a thorough review of his presidency.
The controversy extended beyond football administration, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly stating that he had lost confidence in the FIFA president.
Faced with mounting criticism, FIFA officially withdrew the proposal last Saturday.
At the time, Infantino defended the intentions behind the initiative, saying the objective had always been to strengthen and unite world football.
Following Wednesday’s board meeting, FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom and members of the FIFA Management Board issued a joint statement expressing their full support for Infantino.
The statement described him as the only FIFA official directly elected by all 211 member associations and reaffirmed confidence in his leadership.
The board also acknowledged shortcomings in the way the proposal was handled.
According to FIFA, officials admitted that member associations and the FIFA Council should never have felt excluded from the process and agreed that the proposal should have been managed differently from the outset.
The organisation further admitted mistakes were made after details of the proposal were leaked to the media, which intensified public criticism.
FIFA confirmed that Infantino and Grafstrom jointly wrote to FIFA Council members, vice-presidents and all member associations, offering a sincere apology for the handling of the project.
They pledged to improve communication and governance procedures to prevent similar situations in the future.
The football governing body also confirmed that the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal has now been permanently abandoned.
Instead, FIFA will conduct a comprehensive review of the events surrounding the proposal, with the findings to be presented to the FIFA Council during its next scheduled meeting.
During the Rabat meeting, Grafstrom was also present despite reports that an internal memo he authored had recently been leaked. In the document, he reportedly described the handling of the proposal as “a sad and reproachable series of events.”
Despite the controversy, Infantino later attended the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match between Zambia and Malawi in Rabat alongside Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa.
Lekjaa publicly defended the FIFA president, describing the decision to withdraw the proposal as a wise move that would preserve unity within world football.
He also praised Infantino’s leadership over the past decade and expressed continued support for initiatives aimed at developing football globally.
Meanwhile, FIFA dismissed reports suggesting Morocco had been promised the hosting rights for the 2030 FIFA World Cup final in exchange for supporting the investment proposal.
The organisation described the claims as false and misleading, insisting that the venue for the final of the 2030 tournament—co-hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal—will be determined through the appropriate decision-making process at a later date.
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