Gianni Infantino's grip on the presidency of FIFA appears increasingly precarious, with reports suggesting the embattled leader has taken refuge in Salé, Morocco, home to FIFA's African headquarters, as he scrambles to shore up support.
According to reporting in the Times, Infantino's aides have been contacting FIFA Legends, the organisation's paid group of former players who serve as ambassadors, in an effort to rally public backing for the president. That strategy suffered a significant blow this week when Luís Figo, one of the most prominent names among the Legends, broke ranks publicly.
"Infantino must go," Figo said, criticising the president's proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors as "the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed."
The controversy centres on Infantino's plan to bring in outside investment tied to the World Cup, reportedly involving a deal structured around a single prospective buyer, technology investor Joshua Kushner, with a valuation figure of $20 billion and a deadline of September 19 attached to the proposal. Critics have questioned both the transparency and the financial logic of such an arrangement, arguing that a rushed process with one hand-picked bidder is an unusual way to maximise value for what would be one of football's most significant assets.
Opposition to Infantino is reportedly coalescing at the highest levels of the game. Leadership figures from UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation are said to be organising resistance, with a