FIFA leadership backs Infantino amid pressure on his presidency

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and members of the management board reaffirmed their “unreserved support” for Infantino. Keystone-SDA

Following fierce criticism of Gianni Infantino’s plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup, FIFA’s leadership has demonstratively rallied behind their president. The Zurich-based body will not tolerate attacks on its integrity, members of the management board declared.

The top leadership of football’s world governing body, led by the heavily criticised Swiss Gianni Infantino, has demonstrated unity following an emergency meeting in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and the members of the management board present reaffirmed their “unreserved support” for Infantino “as the only official elected by the 211 FIFA member associations”, according to a statement.

Conversely, Infantino reaffirmed his full support for Grafström. The Swede had recently lamented a “sad and reprehensible series of events” as well as “turmoil” in an internal email to FIFA staff following the failure of the plan to sell World Cup rights to investors.

FIFA admits mistakes

In its statement, FIFA admitted to mistakes in Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise project. The statement went on to say that there was agreement that it had not been the intention to “give the FIFA Council and FIFA member associations the impression that they were excluded from the process, and that the process should have been handled differently”.

Infantino caused a wave of outrage in the world of football when his plans to sell parts of the commercial rights to FIFA competitions, such as the World Cup, to private investors came to light.

Although the FIFA chief backed down on the plans last weekend, fierce opposition to him is mounting, particularly in Europe. The current crisis could spell the end of Infantino’s ten-year tenure as FIFA president.

+ FIFA scraps World Cup sell-off plan after backlash

In response to the harsh criticism, the world governing body stated: “FIFA will not tolerate any attacks on its integrity and will take all necessary measures to defend its reputation.”

Newspaper report causes a stir

Prior to this, a report in The Times had caused further controversy. The newspaper claimed that Infantino had promised Morocco the right to host the 2030 World Cup final, a claim which was immediately denied by FIFA.

According to the paper, the FIFA boss wanted the final to be held at the new 115,000-seat Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca.

This would have been a major affront to Spain – and by extension to Europe – which had harshly criticised Infantino in recent days following the controversial and now-rejected investor deal.

Spain will co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Portugal and Morocco. In addition, the first three matches will take place in South America (Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay).

“It is incorrect and misleading to claim that the FIFA president has made any promise regarding the hosting of the final of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. A decision will be taken by FIFA in due course,” the world governing body stated in response to an enquiry from German news agency DPA.

Translated from German/reviewed by an English Department journalist

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