Gianni Infantino has called senior Fifa officials to an executive meeting in Rabat on Wednesday as opposition intensifies to his abandoned proposal to sell the governing body’s commercial and event operations.
Fifa chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and Prince Ali, president of the Jordanian Football Association, have all publicly criticised the Fifa Forward Enterprise plan.
Infantino has been in Morocco for the past week and summoned the meeting in an attempt to resolve the controversy surrounding the proposed investment vehicle.
Wenger said abandoning the plan was “absolutely necessary and beyond question” in a statement released by Fifa. Grafstrom described the events of the past week as “a sad and reproachable series of events” in an internal email to staff.
Prince Ali has gone further, accusing Fifa of withholding prize money and using the situation to seek support for Infantino’s re-election. He said the organisation’s conduct “amounts to blackmail”.
Wenger, the former Arsenal manager, has held a Fifa role covering areas including football data analysis, online training and youth competitions since 2019. He had previously backed Infantino’s proposal to stage the men’s World Cup every two years.
But one week after details of the investment plan emerged, Wenger issued a statement demanding “transparency and integrity” from Fifa.
“The recent events at Fifa deserve some clarity from my side,” Wenger’s statement read.
“I was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports.
“The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent Fifa that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity.”
Wenger is among 18 Fifa officials named in a document preservation letter sent by Uefa to Fifa, which threatened legal action.
Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance, is the only Fifa official to have resigned over the affair. He said the proposal was “a bad deal for football” and would “mortgage football’s future”.
Prince Ali alleges prize money was withheld
Prince Ali claimed on X that Jordan had not received prize money earned after finishing runners-up at the Fifa Arab Cup in December.
Ahead of the World Cup final, Infantino said he had received more than 200 letters of support from Fifa’s 211 member associations for his re-election. Jordan was one of the few associations not to support him.
Prince Ali alleged that Fifa attempted to link payment of the money to backing Infantino.
“It is clear the problem really is with leadership,” he wrote. “For months, Fifa has been refusing to help us – until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out.
“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now.
“But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”
Prince Ali has stood twice for the Fifa presidency. He lost 133-73 to Sepp Blatter in 2015, with Blatter resigning nine days later. Prince Ali finished third in the 2016 election won by Infantino.
He also claimed that Jordanian supporters who had tickets had been refused visas to travel to the United States this summer for the country’s first appearance at the World Cup.
Fifa has been approached for a response.
Grafstrom says turmoil was ‘difficult to comprehend’
Grafstrom also criticised the investment plan in an internal message to Fifa employees, describing the past week as “difficult to comprehend and accept”.
The Swede is regarded as a close ally of Infantino. He became Fifa’s chief of staff after Infantino was elected president in 2016 and was promoted to secretary general, one of the organisation’s most powerful roles, in 2024.
“A sad and reproachable series of events – which were thankfully concluded with the project permanently abandoned – for as much as we feel dismayed by them, should not overshadow this reality,” Grafstrom wrote.
“We have all been thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept.
“I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us: serving football and serving our 211 member associations, hand in hand with all relevant stakeholders and in full compliance with the Fifa statutes and Fifa regulations.
“I assure you that you as members of the administration, you will be defended and safeguarded from the political context we currently experience. You do not need to worry.
“Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue, and that is why we should always keep our professionalism, sense of perspective and composure.”
