Infantino Apologises for Errors but Retains Fifa Presidency After Rabat Meeting

Gianni Infantino will remain as president of world football's governing body Fifa after surviving a major governance crisis triggered by his controversial attempt to sell private stakes in Fifa's major tournaments. Following an emergency meeting of the management board in Rabat, Morocco, Infantino and Fifa's secretary general Matthias Grafstrom issued a joint signed letter to all 211 member associations, saying they "sincerely apologise" for their errors and "commit to them not happening again."

The Crisis and the Meeting

The crisis erupted after Infantino floated a plan to sell stakes in tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups, to private investors through a new subsidiary called Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE). Infantino had offered member associations $40 million each if they backed the proposal. The plan was swiftly abandoned after fierce resistance from European football's governing body Uefa, which called it a "shabby, back room, opaque deal" and said it had lost confidence in Infantino.

The criticism came not only from outside Fifa. The organisation's own secretary general Grafstrom wrote in an internal memo that the situation represented "a sad and reproachable series of events." Despite this, in the statement following Wednesday's meeting, Grafstrom joined the management board in "reaffirming their full support" for Infantino as president.

Infantino Stays On

Following the meeting, Infantino and Grafstrom were photographed together attending a Women's Africa Cup of Nations match in Rabat, presenting a public image of unity. In its statement, the management board also made clear that the FFE proposal was officially dead.

Infantino was first elected as Fifa president in 2016 and has presided over a period of rapid expansion of Fifa's commercial revenues. However, his leadership style has attracted sustained criticism from within European football and from some member associations who argue his approach to governance has been insufficiently transparent.