FIFA President Gianni Infantino has summoned senior leaders of the world governing body to an executive meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, after another day in which he has faced fierce criticism over his plan to sell off commercial and event operations.
Infantino who has been in Morocco over the past week, called the executive meeting in Rabat as he attempts to find a solution to the controversy.
FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, chief of global football development Arsene Wenger and president of the Jordanian Football Association, Prince Ali, all made clear their opposition to Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise yesterday.
Wenger said in a statement issued through FIFA that scrapping the plan was absolutely necessary and beyond question.
He has been in a role which encompasses data analysis of the game, FIFA’s online training and youth competitions, since 2019.
The former Arsenal boss previously supported Infantino’s proposal to play the men’s World Cup every two years but a week after the FIFA President’s investment plan was first released, the Frenchman issued a statement demanding transparency and integrity from the body.
Wenger is one of 18 Fifa officials named in a document preservation letter European football governing body, UEFA sent to FIFA threatening legal action.
Meanwhile, Grafstrom described last week as a sad and reproachable series of events in an internal email to FIFA staff.
Prince Ali on his part accused FIFA of creating a situation which amounts to blackmail over unpaid prize money and support for Infantino’s re-election.
However, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance Carlos Cordeiro is the only FIFA official to resign over the scandal, saying the proposal was a bad deal for football and would mortgage football’s future.