Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo
With his future as the head of world soccer in doubt, FIFA President Gianni Infantino is reportedly scheduled to hold a “crisis” meeting in Morocco on Wednesday with the organization’s top officials.
Infantino, 56, is seven months away from a FIFA vote for a potential fourth term, but battling to keep his place in the international organization after a disastrous proposal to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors sparked anger amid the group’s 211 member associations.
Morocco is set to host the next World Cup, scheduled for 2030. Infantino, who took over FIFA in 2016 from the disgraced Sepp Blatter, just wrapped up a World Cup in the U.S. that brought in $15 billion in revenue.
He was accused of “selling the soul of football” with his plan to create a new organization and sell off 20% of the World Cup to raise $4.2 billion from investors, including Josh Kushner, brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Even though Infantino junked the plan on Friday, it’s done little to stop the criticism, according to Reuters, which noted the expected Wednesday meeting comes as his FIFA colleagues have been less than supportive.
An internal memo from FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom cited by the outlet confirmed the sell-off plan had been “permanently abandoned” and called the events leading up to the decision “sad and reproachable,” Reuters reported, while FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour had previously claimed staff were “deceived” by the plan.
Lamour had called Infantino’s plan “the project of one person,” according to Reuters.
The backlash to the sell-off plan was so strong, FIFA’s White House World Cup Adviser Carlos Cordeiro quit.
“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement.
“Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” the former banker said, calling it “a bad deal for football.”
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