Gianni Infantino has “sincerely apologised for errors” made but will stay on as FIFA President.
The 56-year-old has come under fire after attempting to convince FIFA’s 211 member associations to back the creation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial company that would control the rights to the governing body’s major tournaments.
The FFE would sell a 20 per cent share of the business to private investors, with the venture reportedly valued at around $20billion (£14.8billion).
Following major backlash and calls to boycott competitions, FIFA pulled the plans and held an emergency meeting in Morocco today.
A leaked letter from FIFA signed by Infantino and the governing body’s secretary general, Mattias Grafstrom, acknowledged the mistakes made.
It read: “We sincerely apologise for these errors and commit to them not happening again.
“With this in mind, we will conduct a necessary review, and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting.
“Furthermore, as already known, the proposal, which would have been subject to the approval of the FIFA Member Associations and the FIFA Council, is now off the table.”
Gianni Infantino will stay on as the FIFA President
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The message then took aim at the scrutiny that has come the governing body’s way, questioning its “name and reputation”.
It continued: “With the project withdrawn, FIFA will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation.
“There are always lessons to be learned, and we will continue to improve our processes in light of this experience.
“In this instance, however, it is important to stress that, although mistakes were made, everything that was done, was done in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework.
The FIFA President held an emergency meeting today
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“We will actively examine together with you how we can further support the development of the game, through the FIFA Forward programme, for the benefit of FIFA’s 211 Member Associations, the Confederations and Regional Associations.
“We remain at your full disposal in answering any questions you may have in this regard and look forward to seeing you in person again soon.”
The governing body said that it is “fully confident” that the outcomes of the meeting in Morocco will “strengthen FIFA’s governance, help restore confidence in the organisation and enable us to prepare for the major events and challenges ahead”.
The letter recognised the errors of the FFE, adding: “It was certainly not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and it should have been handled differently”.
The governing body said that it is ‘fully confident’ that the outcomes of the meeting in Morocco will ‘strengthen FIFA’s governance, help restore confidence in the organisation and enable us to prepare for the major events and challenges ahead’
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Several high-profile figures have called for Infantino to resign after the failed FFE project.
The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, voiced his thoughts, saying he is “the wrong man”.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed Burnham’s thoughts today, saying: “I certainly don’t have confidence in Mr Infantino after this point, given what transpired and given the nature of what transpired.”
Carney added it is “not how you run any business… let alone something that is a global responsibility like football”.
Despite this, the governing body will stick with Infantino as its President, with Infantino already back in front of the cameras alongside Grofstrom at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
