Gianni Infantino is set to confront senior Fifa executives at a crisis meeting in Rabat on Wednesday, as opposition to his leadership mounts following the collapse of a controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
The gathering, held at Fifa's Africa office, will bring together secretary general Mattias Grafstrom alongside other members of Fifa's management board, including finance chief Thomas Peyer, legal chief Emilio Garcia Silvero, chief of staff Daniel O'Toole, chief of member associations Elkhan Mammadov and media relations director Bryan Swanson. The exact purpose of the meeting has not been made public, but it is widely believed Infantino will use the occasion to attempt to repair relationships within his inner circle and chart a path toward remaining in charge of world football's governing body.
That task will not be easy. Grafstrom described the events of the past week as "a sad and reproachable series of events" that were "difficult to comprehend and accept," while Fifa's chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said the private investment scheme was "the project of one person" and claimed the organization's own administration had been "deceived."
The fallout intensified after Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned on Friday, branding the proposal "a bad deal for football" that would "mortgage football's future." In his resignation statement, Cordeiro posed a series of pointed questions likely to resurface at Wednesday's meeting: "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?" He added that member associations had been given only 50 days to approve a decision of major consequence, calling it "not a responsible way to determine the future of the world's game."
The scheme, known internally as the Fifa Forward Enterprise, would have seen stakes in the World Cup sold off to outside investors, prompting Uefa to threaten a boycott of Fifa competitions. Infantino was ultimately forced into a climbdown, but the damage to his standing appears far from repaired. Several federations, including those of Wales and Sweden, have already withdrawn their backing, with England reportedly poised to do the same. The Asian Football Confederation has demanded an