FIFA has reaffirmed its full support for President Gianni Infantino following the collapse of a contentious plan to sell World Cup commercial rights. The plan, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, would have sold a 20 percent stake in a new commercial rights body to private investors to raise $4.2 billion and involved a company with family ties to US President Donald Trump. Officials acknowledged that mistakes were made in the proposal, which was subsequently withdrawn.

The declaration of support came after a crisis meeting held on Wednesday, August 5th, 2026, in Rabat, Morocco. The meeting was convened amid mounting pressure from UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, and other confederations, which threatened to derail Infantino's expected re-election to a fourth term at FIFA's Congress in March 2027.

In a statement, FIFA said Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom and members of its management board reiterated their backing for Infantino as “the only official elected by the 211 FIFA Member Associations.” FIFA also issued an apology in a separate letter to its managing council and member associations, with a review and report to follow.

However, UEFA expressed a loss of confidence in Infantino's leadership and issued FIFA a “document preservation letter.” According to a report by The Times of London, UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation were prepared to paralyse FIFA or launch rival competitions if Infantino did not step aside. Despite this, some federations, including Qatar and several African associations, have publicly backed Infantino.

The leadership crisis highlights deep divisions within world football's governing bodies over the commercial direction of the World Cup and FIFA's governance.

Sources