FIFA Chief Infantino Convenes Urgent Meeting in Morocco Amid Growing Demands for His Departure

Emergency talks were held by President Gianni Infantino with other FIFA directors in Morocco on Wednesday, as revealed by a source, amidst a surge of criticism over his now-abandoned plan to open the World Cup to private investment.

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This wave of criticism has put Infantino under increasing pressure, even from within FIFA, over his handling of the proposal, and calls for him to step down have grown since he abandoned it last Saturday.

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Infantino has reportedly sought support from former great players known as ‘FIFA Legends’, but his plea was met with rejection, including from former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Luis Figo, who sent him a clear message: “Go”.

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Figo expressed his sentiments in the Daily Mail on Wednesday, stating that the solution to FIFA's problems requires only three words: "Infantino must go", and described the president's behaviour as the "lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested" he has ever witnessed.

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Figo also mentioned that he has met some rogues in his time in the game, but what he has seen exposed in the last 10 days is the most egregious example of self-interest he has ever seen.

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One of those believed to be at the meeting is FIFA’s secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, whose internal email to staff criticising the plan was leaked on Tuesday, describing the fiasco surrounding the proposal as "a sad and reproachable series of events".

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Infantino, a 56-year-old Swiss lawyer, held the meeting in FIFA’s Africa regional office in Sale, close to Rabat, where he was initially celebrating last week’s Feast of the Enthronement.

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Morocco is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup, and Moroccan Football chief Fouzi Lekjaa is one of the few to have publicly supported Infantino since the humiliating climbdown, praising his "wise" move to scrap the plan in the interests of "unity and cohesion".

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Lekjaa reiterated his backing for Infantino for "all the initiatives aimed at the development of world football" during his 10 years in charge, despite the controversy surrounding the president.

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Infantino had been basking in the success of a highly successful World Cup, the largest ever with 48 teams and co-hosted by three countries, Canada, Mexico, and the US, with his wish to serve a fourth and final term looking likely to be rubber-stamped in Rabat next March.

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However, all that changed on Tuesday last week when FIFA floated the plan, which could have raised up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

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The plan proposed that the FFE would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup, and could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027, and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.

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Instead of being well-received, the plan sparked a furious backlash, with European football’s governing body UEFA resorting to the nuclear option of boycotting the World Cup, and by Saturday, Infantino had withdrawn the plan.

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Infantino stated that "our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve", but this was not enough to shore up his authority, as UEFA termed the proposal a "shabby, back room, opaque deal" hatched by Infantino.

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UEFA also stated that the current FIFA leadership has not only lost their confidence but also that of many other members of the football family, and North and Central American football’s governing body CONCACAF called for "a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency".

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CONCACAF also slammed Infantino’s "poor governance and leadership", further fueling the fire, and Grafstrom's leaked email described the fiasco as "a sad and reproachable series of events", stating that "individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go, but the institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue".