2026-08-05 14:04:23
Gianni Infantino’s grip on the presidency of world football’s governing body faces fresh scrutiny as the Fifa president prepares to meet senior executives in Morocco following the collapse of his controversial proposal to sell stakes in Fifa’s commercial and event operations.
The meeting, expected to take place on Wednesday (05.08.26) at Fifa’s Africa office in Rabat, comes after days of mounting opposition from within the organisation and across the international game. Infantino, 56, has called together members of Fifa’s management board after secretary general Mattias Grafstrom circulated a strongly worded internal memo criticising the events surrounding the now-abandoned Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal.
The investment plan has become the biggest crisis of Infantino’s presidency since he took office in 2016, with growing questions over governance, transparency and leadership.
In recent days, Uefa has publicly declared it has lost confidence in Infantino, while several national associations, including Wales, have withdrawn support for his expected bid for another term as president. England is also expected to follow.
The controversy comes at a significant moment for Fifa, with preparations continuing for the expanded 48-team men’s World Cup in 2026 across the United States, Canada and Mexico – a tournament that remains one of Infantino’s flagship projects.
Fifa is also preparing for future reforms across the global game, while debate has continued over Infantino’s previously floated idea of expanding the World Cup to 64 teams for the tournament’s centenary in 2030.
On Tuesday (04.08.26), Fifa’s chief of global football development, Arsène Wenger distanced himself from the proposal.
According to BBC Sport, Arsène said: “I was not involved.”
He added abandoning the proposal was “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.
Further pressure came from Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, president of the Jordan Football Association, who accused Fifa of creating circumstances that “amount to blackmail” over unpaid prize money and support for Infantino’s re-election.
Those claims have not been independently verified by the BBC, and Fifa declined to comment when approached by the broadcaster.
BBC Sport reports the meeting in Rabat will include Grafstrom alongside senior members of Fifa’s leadership team, including chief financial officer Thomas Peyer, chief legal and compliance officer Emilio Garcia Silvero, chief of staff Daniel O’Toole, chief of member associations Elkhan Mammadov and media relations director Bryan Swanson.
The purpose of the gathering has not been formally confirmed, although it is widely expected Infantino will seek to repair relationships with senior colleagues and chart a path towards retaining the presidency.
That task may prove difficult following criticism from inside Fifa itself.
In his memo to staff, Grafstrom described the previous week as “a sad and reproachable series of events” that were “difficult to comprehend and accept”.
The internal criticism followed remarks made by Fifa chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who reportedly described the private investment proposal as “the project of one person”.
Lamour also said Fifa’s administration had been “deceived”.
The fallout also prompted the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro who had served as Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance.
In announcing his departure, Cordeiro described the proposal as “a bad deal for football” that would “mortgage football’s future”.
Member associations had been given until 19 September to approve the proposal or forgo additional funding linked to the deal.
Cordeiro said: “Most troubling of all is the absence of answers to fundamental questions.
“Why this deal? Why now? What oversight exists? Who benefits? Was there a competitive process? What governance will be in place? What will investors ultimately gain, and at what cost to football?
“These questions remain largely unanswered, and yet member associations are being asked to make a decision of enormous consequence in barely 50 days or risk being left behind.
“That is not a responsible way to determine the future of the world’s game.
“This proposal has become a defining question for Fifa’s future.”
According to BBC Sport, any attempt to remove Infantino before the next Fifa Congress would face significant procedural hurdles.
An emergency meeting of the Fifa Council would require the backing of 19 of its 37 members, although BBC Sport understands there are doubts such support exists.
Alternatively, an extraordinary congress could be triggered if 43 of Fifa’s 211 member associations submitted a written request.
Uefa’s 55 member nations would have sufficient numbers to initiate that process, although any vote of no confidence would require the support of 106 associations to succeed.
If no such action is taken, attention will turn to the presidential election at the Fifa Congress in March. Candidates must declare by 18 November.
Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is regarded as the leading potential unity candidate should opposition federations decide to challenge Infantino, who stood unopposed at his re-election victories in 2019 and 2023.
The situation echoes events in 2015, when Sepp Blatter was re-elected as Fifa president before resigning eight days later amid the organisation’s corruption scandal.
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