Gianni Infantino retains FIFA board’s support after crisis meeting in Morocco

FULL SUPPORT: Gianni Infantino has the “full support” of FIFA’s management board despite being forced to abandon his plan to sell stakes in a company to run the World Cup to private investors. Pic: Sam Corum/PA Wire.

Gianni Infantino has the “full support” of FIFA’s management board despite being forced to abandon his plan to sell stakes in a company to run the World Cup to private investors.

The Swiss’ plan was rejected by three continental confederations before it was withdrawn and led to UEFA threatening to boycott FIFA competitions until it was scrapped.

He held a crisis meeting with senior FIFA executives in Morocco on Wednesday and emerged with their support.

“The FIFA secretary general and members of the FIFA management board reaffirmed their full support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, as the only official elected by the 211 FIFA member associations,” a statement from the global governing body read.

“In turn, the FIFA president reiterated his full support for the FIFA secretary general and the FIFA administration for their necessary and outstanding work in the delivery of his vision.”

Mattias Grafstrom, the secretary general referenced in the statement, is understood to have written an email to staff on Tuesday in which he described Infantino’s proposal to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to manage FIFA competitions and sell a 20 per cent stake to private investors as “sad and reproachable”.

Wednesday night’s statement presented a more united picture following the Rabat summit, however.

“FIFA’s top management is fully confident that the outcomes of today’s meeting will strengthen FIFA’s governance, help restore confidence in the organisation and enable us to prepare for the major events and challenges ahead in a united and transparent manner while continuing our mission to develop the game around the world,” it continued.

The statement said “mistakes were acknowledged” regarding the FFE plan at Wednesday’s meeting.

“It was agreed that it was not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently. It was further acknowledged that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media,” it added.