FIFA’s Infantino set for crunch meeting after World Cup selloff crisis

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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 commercial rights body to FIFA’s 211 member associations last week. The proposed sale of 20% of the ⁠body to private investment to raise $4.2bn, and the involvement of a company with family links to United States President Donald Trump, were just the most egregious flaws in the plan for its many critics. Infantino’s backdown last Friday has done little to assuage those critics, most notably the European confederation UEFA, which accused him of selling the soul of the game and said it no longer has confidence in his leadership. That has cast ⁠a shadow over Infantino’s re-election for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March, which looked a foregone conclusion two months ago. UEFA confirmed to Al Jazeera on Tuesday that it has issued FIFA with a “document preservation letter”, but made no further comment. A handful of European federations have withdrawn their backing for the Swiss Italian, but perhaps more damaging is the messaging coming from several of Infantino’s colleagues at FIFA. FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom sent an internal memo to staff lamenting the “sad and reproachable series of events” that led to the project being “permanently abandoned”, two sources told the Reuters news agency. “Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue …” the Swede added in the letter, which made no mention of Infantino by name. His words echoed those ‌of FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour, who said last week that staff had been “deceived” over the plan, which he described as “the project of one person”. Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest at the plan last week, and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger distanced himself from it on Tuesday. Wenger, the chief of Global Football Development at FIFA, said he was not involved in drafting the proposal and maintained the decision to withdraw it was “absolutely necessary”. Infantino has spent the last week in Morocco, which will cohost the next World Cup in 2030 and whose football association has already announced its continued support for him. The first order of Wednesday’s meeting at FIFA’s Africa office in Sale, which sits across the Bou Regreg river from the Moroccan capital Rabat, is likely to focus on ensuring that Infantino at least survives the seven months until the election. An Extraordinary Congress could be called if 43 or more FIFA member associations make a formal written request for one. According to a report ⁠in The Times of London on Monday, UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are determined to force Infantino out of office by paralysing FIFA and even starting ⁠up their own competitions if he refuses to go. CONCACAF, the AFC and FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. UEFA said it had no comment. CONCACAF, which runs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the AFC have backed UEFA’s position, even if not every national association will follow their confederation’s lead. Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup, as well as Kuwait, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Indonesia have declared their loyalty to Infantino in the face of the AFC’s stance. Infantino has always ⁠enjoyed a lot of support away from the traditional heartlands of the game, where impoverished football associations rely on FIFA’s largesse to operate. It was at those associations that his proposal was pitched, with promises of a dividend of $20m to $40m at the start of next year for each national body which backed the plan. Leading African football administrators have sent messages of support as Infantino looks to the continent’s 54 members for backing. The ⁠African confederation (CAF) has yet to take a stance. The executive committee of the smallest and least wealthy confederation, Oceania, will meet next Wednesday to discuss their approach. “I think it’s going to be really interesting for the international football community over the next few weeks,” New Zealand Football boss Andrew Pragnell told Reuters on Tuesday. “It’s really important for a country like New Zealand to make a lot of contact with its confederation. It helps when you act in unison with your confederation.” Under FIFA rules, the vote of San Marino, whose men’s team are ‌ranked 211th and last in the world rankings, counts as much as that of World Cup winners Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain. One clear advantage for Infantino as he looks to extend his presidency until 2031 is that no clear candidate to stand against him in March’s election has yet emerged. Jordan FA President Prince Ali bin Hussein has twice stood for the post, losing to Sepp Blatter in 2015 and finishing third behind ‌Infantino and ‌AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa the following year. Prince Ali made his position on the current crisis clear on Tuesday when he accused FIFA of “blackmail”, saying it had offered to help solve problems in exchange for endorsing Infantino. “We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now,” Prince Ali wrote on social media. Al Jazeera has contacted FIFA for comment on the allegations. 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