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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has apologised for his role in the controversial “FIFA Forward Enterprise” (FFE) proposal but has retained the backing of senior officials after an emergency meeting in Morocco.
Facing mounting criticism, Infantino convened an urgent meeting of FIFA’s management board at the organisation’s African office in Rabat on Wednesday. Four hours after the meeting, FIFA issued a statement reaffirming the board’s full support for the president.
Much of the opposition to the FFE proposal came from within FIFA itself, including secretary general Mattias Grafström. However, following the meeting, Grafström joined Infantino in signing a statement expressing “full support” for the FIFA president.
In a joint letter sent to FIFA vice-presidents, council members and all 211 member associations, Infantino and Grafström offered a “sincere apology” for mistakes made in handling the proposal and pledged that such errors would not be repeated. They later attended a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match together in Rabat.
FIFA acknowledged that member associations and the FIFA Council should have been more closely involved in the process and admitted that the matter should have been handled differently, particularly after details of the proposal were leaked to the media.
The controversy erupted after The Times reported on July 28 that Infantino had sought support for the proposal by offering Morocco the right to host the 2030 World Cup final. FIFA strongly denied the allegation, calling it “false and misleading”, and said the venue for the final of the 2030 tournament, to be jointly hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal, has yet to be decided.
The 56-year-old Infantino is preparing to seek a fourth term as FIFA president. Candidates have until November 18, 2026, to enter the race ahead of the election at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March 2027. A candidate needs at least 106 votes from FIFA’s 211 member associations to win.
Although FIFA insisted all procedures complied with its regulations and said the episode would ultimately strengthen governance, the apology is unlikely to fully ease tensions with UEFA.
UEFA had strongly opposed the FFE proposal and reportedly warned that its 55 member associations could boycott FIFA competitions. While the proposal has since been withdrawn, UEFA has not declared confidence in Infantino’s leadership.
The Asian Football Confederation also rejected the proposal but has remained largely silent since it was scrapped. Meanwhile, CONCACAF criticised Infantino’s handling of the issue but stopped short of withdrawing confidence in him.
Despite opposition from Europe, Infantino continues to enjoy strong backing from many countries in Asia and Africa, including Egypt, Morocco, Niger, Mauritania, DR Congo and the Philippines. Many supporters benefit from FIFA’s “Forward” development programme, which provides up to $8 million in funding every three-year cycle.
