Soccer-Infantino holds crisis meeting in Morocco as FIFA stake sale fallout continues

By Rohith Nair Aug 5 (Reuters) - Gianni Infantino will hold a crisis meeting with top FIFA officials in Morocco on Wednesday as he looks to shore up his position in the wake of the collapse of his gambit to sell off commercial rights to the World Cup. The FIFA president has been the subject of a torrent of criticism, and no small amount of personal abuse, since he floated the idea of the new…

al-monitor.com ·10d ago

Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, is set to hold a crisis meeting with top officials in Morocco. This meeting comes after his proposal to sell commercial rights to the World Cup was met with widespread criticism and ultimately scrapped. The plan, which would have sold 20% of the commercial rights to a private investment firm for $4.2 billion, was widely criticized, with many accusing Infantino of selling the soul of the game.

The proposal was also marred by controversy due to the involvement of a company with ties to US President Donald Trump's family. UEFA, the European governing body, was particularly vocal in its criticism, and some European federations have withdrawn their support for Infantino. His reelection for a fourth term, which had previously seemed likely, is now uncertain.

Infantino has faced a torrent of criticism and personal abuse since the proposal was floated, and his backdown last Friday has done little to appease his critics. According to RTE News, Infantino has called an emergency meeting of FIFA staff in Rabat on Wednesday as pressure on the president ramps up.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Free Malaysia Today, RTE News, SB Nation — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.