FIFA president Gianni Infantino has apologised for his World Cup sell-off plan at a three-hour FIFA Council meeting in Zurich on Thursday. His expression of regret for not telling the council about his plans earlier was not good enough for European football leaders, including FA chair Debbie Hewitt, who still want him to resign. UEFA wants Infantino to release all documents relating to the plan as they believe the 20 per cent stake in all future FIFA tournaments was being sold for a knockdown price.
It was expected council members would also quiz Infantino on a number of controversial issues at the meeting. As well as the World Cup sell-off plan, Infantino faced scrutiny on the decision to suspend the one-match ban of USA striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, the FIFA Peace Prize and why it was given to USA President Donald Trump, and the reasons for an additional £1.3m fee he received in 2024 on top of his FIFA salary. After this summer's World Cup, Infantino abandoned a controversial plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private equity investors after fierce opposition from football's governing bodies.
FIFA had announced it was seeking to launch FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would bring together the sale of FIFA's commercial rights - including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing - with the operational delivery of its tournaments. Infantino had then given football associations until September 19 to back his proposals to sell off part of FIFA to private investors with a £30.1m incentive to accept. But the controversial proposals received fierce criticism from UEFA, CONCACAF (the North American, Central American and Caribbean association) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
FA chair Hewitt has called on Infantino to answer questions about his World Cup private investor plan and the Folarin Balogun case. She said Council members had not received answers to "anything we had specifically requested" regarding FFE or the Balogun incident, where the United States striker's one-match ban was suspended following a call to Infantino from US President Donald Trump. Hewitt told reporters in Zurich: "The man has to answer those questions, and if he doesn't answer those questions, no, he's not fit to be FIFA president, and that was what was shared in the meeting.
"He's told us to submit those questions. There were so many of them, and now it's up to him to do that, and do that in the open way." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Analysis by Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol: "It's not enough for European football leaders, because make no mistake, they have had enough of Gianni Infantino, they want him out. "They just think this is the final scandal in a long list of scandals - and don't forget what Infantino was doing this summer behind the backs of the FIFA Council, who are effectively the FIFA Board.
"He was negotiating to sell a stake, not just in the World Cup, but all future FIFA tournaments forever more. A 20 per cent stake, he was going to set up a new company, and the company was valued at just $20bn (£15m) when the World Cup this summer made $15bn (£11bn). "So, European football leaders are convinced he was trying to sell off the World Cup on the cheap.
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