{
  "id": 165726,
  "title": "Soccer-Infantino holds crisis meeting in Morocco as FIFA stake sale fallout continues",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/soccer-infantino-holds-crisis-meeting-in-morocco-as-fifa-stake-sale",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-05T07:46:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Al-Monitor",
    "slug": "al-monitor",
    "url": "https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/08/soccer-infantino-holds-crisis-meeting-morocco-fifa-stake-sale-fallout-continues"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "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.\n\nThe 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 UEFA, the European governing body, was particularly vocal in its criticism, and some European federations have withdrawn their support for Infantino.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.\n\nInfantino 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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SB Nation",
        "title": "Gianni Infantino is facing a FIFA crisis after new allegations and World Cup controversy",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/gianni-infantino-is-facing-a-fifa-crisis-after-new-allegations-and",
        "published": "2026-08-04T17:56:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Embattled FIFA boss faces 'blackmail' allegations from ex-staffer",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/embattled-fifa-boss-faces-blackmail-allegations-from-ex-staffer",
        "published": "2026-08-04T21:02:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "France 24",
        "title": "US World Cup host cities seek millions in unpaid FIFA funding: report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/us-world-cup-host-cities-seek-millions-in-unpaid-fifa-funding-report",
        "published": "2026-08-04T21:46:45.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "FIFA apologises but backs Infantino after World Cup sell-off controversy",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/fifa-apologises-but-backs-infantino-after-world-cup-sell-off",
        "published": "2026-08-06T08:05:49.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}