Infantino sorry for 'errors' but gets FIFA backing
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- FIFA issued an apology acknowledging 'mistakes' in the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which sought to raise $4.2 billion by selling ~20% stakes in a World Cup commercial subsidiary based on a $20 billion equity valuation.
- Gianni Infantino survived the crisis meeting in Morocco, with Secretary General Mattias Grafström and management board members 'reaffirming their full support' for his presidency — though Grafström had previously called the episode a 'sad and reproachable series of events' in an email to staff.
- Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner (brother of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law), was named as the FFE 'anchor investor' before Infantino withdrew the plan Saturday after furious backlash from global soccer officials.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared he no longer has confidence in Infantino, calling the failure to consult senior advisers a 'fatal' governance failure — a rare head-of-state rebuke of a sitting FIFA president.
- UEFA voted to boycott the World Cup if FFE proceeded and has since said it lost confidence in FIFA leadership; European leagues including the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A demanded governance reform, calling the FFE plan 'dangerous.'
- FIFA denied a British media report that Infantino offered Morocco the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support, calling it 'false and misleading' — Morocco is vying with Real Madrid and Barcelona's stadiums to host the final at the planned 115,000-seat King Hassan II Stadium.
- Infantino is seeking a fourth and final term at March elections; Concacaf said FIFA 'stopped putting football first,' former chief of global football development Arsène Wenger distanced himself, senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned, and COO Kevin Lamour said staff were 'deceived' by the president's lack of openness.
Why it matters: Infantino keeps his job heading into March elections, but faces formal challenges from multiple confederations after a sitting prime minister publicly declared no confidence and UEFA voted to boycott the World Cup over the abandoned Kushner-linked $20 billion commercialization plan.
