Gianni Infantino has called senior FIFA leaders to a meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, following mounting backlash over his now-abandoned plan to spin off the organisation’s commercial and events operations.
Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, and Prince Ali of Jordan publicly opposed the proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise. Infantino, in Morocco over the past week, convened the executive session in Rabat to address the fallout.
The gathering is expected to include Grafstrom and management board members such as chief financial officer Thomas Peyer, legal director Emilio Garcia Silvero, chief of staff Daniel O’Toole, chief of member associations Elkhan Mammadov, and media relations director Bryan Swanson.
In a statement issued via FIFA, Wenger said he was not involved in the project, learned of it through media reports, and backed its withdrawal as essential. He urged the organisation to uphold independence, transparency, and integrity. Grafstrom, in an internal email to staff, described the past week’s developments as deeply regrettable. Prince Ali, meanwhile, accused FIFA of creating a scenario that he said effectively constituted blackmail over unpaid prize money and support for Infantino’s re-election.
Wenger, who has overseen areas including data analysis, online education, and youth competitions since 2019, previously backed Infantino’s push for a biennial men’s World Cup. He is among 18 FIFA officials named in a document-preservation notice sent by UEFA as it considers legal action.
Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance, has been the only FIFA official to resign over the controversy so far, arguing the plan was a bad deal that would jeopardize football’s future.