Infantino apologises for scrapped World Cup investment plan

Fifa president Gianni Infantino apologised for mistakes in the communication and consultation surrounding a proposal to open the World Cup and other competitions to private investors. But senior Fifa Council members said they received no satisfactory answers about the abandoned plan at a meeting in Zurich on Thursday.

The proposal, known as Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), was announced in late July without first being put to the Council. Fifa withdrew it after widespread criticism, including opposition led by Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF.

Council members seek answers

Bernd Neuendorf, head of the German Football Association and a Council member, said the meeting raised many critical questions but produced “no satisfactory answers from my point of view”. English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt, who is also a Fifa vice-president, said members had requested FFE papers but had not received them.

“We didn’t get answers to anything we had specifically requested,” Hewitt told reporters. She said Infantino was “not fit to be Fifa president” unless he released all documents pertaining to the plan and answered key questions.

In a video published by Fifa, Infantino apologised for mistakes in the project’s communication and consultation process. He stressed that FFE had been a proposal, not a completed deal, and said it was intended to allow Fifa to invest more in its member associations. He also said the initiative “has been permanently withdrawn and will not reappear in any form”.

Pressure before presidential election

Infantino, who has led Fifa since 2016, is running for re-election next March. Many leading European national associations have withdrawn their support following the FFE dispute and other controversies, although no heavyweight challenger has put themselves forward so far.

Hewitt said her position had not changed after the meeting. She acknowledged Infantino’s apology and a renewed promise to provide the requested information, but said she had learned nothing that altered her view.

Development fund and next steps

Fifa also confirmed plans for a $6.35-billion development fund covering the next four years. The proposal, expected to be finalised by the Council at its December meeting, would distribute money to Fifa’s 211 member federations and regional confederations, drawing partly on financial reserves after the commercially successful 2026 World Cup.

The plan would provide US$25 million to each member federation. The deadline for candidates to enter the presidential election is November 18.