Infantino calls emergency FIFA meeting as pressure grows

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has convened an emergency meeting of FIFA staff in Rabat to address mounting pressure over the controversial plan for a private investment company to run the World Cup. Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, clarified on Tuesday that he was not involved in the plan, adding that the decision to withdraw it was "absolutely necessary and beyond question."

The emergency meeting in Morocco includes FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and the FIFA management board, composed of key personnel such as Daniel O’Toole, Emilio Garcia Silvero, Elkhan Mammadov, Kimberly Morris, Bryan Swanson, and David Farrelly. Grafstrom, the second most senior figure in the organization, has reached out to FIFA staff following the "sad and reproachable series of events" that concluded with the abandonment of the project.

The plan to sell 20% of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to private investors faced strong opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), leading UEFA to threaten a boycott of FIFA competitions. UEFA has since lost confidence in Infantino, and several associations have withdrawn their support. Work is ongoing among FIFA Council members to request a majority vote for a meeting to hold Infantino accountable, with opposition members potentially staging a governance boycott. UEFA is considering legal action against Infantino and other FIFA staff over the FFE plan.