By Rohith Nair
Aug 6 (Reuters) – FIFA’s bid to move past the biggest internal crisis of Gianni Infantino’s reign is unlikely to end scrutiny of how world soccer is governed as questions linger on whether promised reforms will lead to meaningful change before the 2027 presidential election.
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A day after FIFA’s leadership gathered in Rabat to publicly reaffirm support for Infantino, the governing body apologised to its 211 members for mistakes surrounding the abandoned proposal to sell a slice of the World Cup’s commercial future.
FIFA also pledged to review the processes that led to the controversy that sparked the fiercest revolt of Infantino’s tenure after national federations complained they had been sidelined.
In a statement issued after Wednesday’s meeting, FIFA acknowledged that the proposal “should have been handled differently” and said it was not their intention for the FIFA Council or associations to feel excluded from the process.
FIFA REVIEW
As the dust settles, a review will now be conducted before a report is presented to the Council at its next meeting and the conciliatory tone marked a stark contrast with the increasingly public criticism that forced FIFA into retreat.
However, FIFA can no longer dodge questions raised by several confederations, leagues and national associations over how major strategic decisions are made and communicated, and the concerns extend beyond the doomed commercial rights proposal.
European Leagues criticised FIFA over what it described as an unrealistically short four-week assessment timeline on a separate proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup from 48 to 64 teams.
The body, which represents over 1,300 European clubs, reinforced complaints that stakeholders are too often presented with decisions rather than consulted on them.
However, FIFA insists that all actions taken over the commercial rights proposal complied with their regulations and stressed that mistakes related to process and communication rather than breaches of governance rules.
FIFA also attempted to present a united front, warning critics that, with the project now abandoned, it would “no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process.”
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POLITICAL FALLOUT
For Infantino, the immediate priority has been containing the political fallout ahead of March’s presidential election in Morocco, where he will seek a fourth term through 2031.
Wednesday’s meeting delivered that objective, with FIFA’s management board and Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom publicly endorsing the president, while Infantino returned the backing by praising the administration’s work.
Grafstrom had sent an internal memo to staff lamenting the “sad and reproachable series of events” and although he did not mention Infantino by name, he noted that “individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go”.
Any suggestion of lingering tensions, however, appeared to have been set aside publicly, with Infantino later posting a photo of the pair smiling for the camera and giving a thumbs-up at a women’s Africa Cup of Nations match in Rabat.
INFANTINO’S LEADERSHIP QUESTIONED
But several influential stakeholders, including European soccer’s governing body UEFA, have openly questioned Infantino’s leadership, while criticism has also emerged from confederations like CONCACAF, which runs the game in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the Asian Football Confederation.
At the same time, Infantino continues to enjoy strong support from many smaller associations, particularly across Africa and Asia, where FIFA development funding remains central to national soccer programmes.
Infantino still appears well placed politically with no viable challenger emerging ahead of the presidential election, but the controversy has shifted the spotlight onto FIFA’s internal decision-making.
Any future proposals that involve commercial strategy, tournament expansion or governance reforms are likely to face significantly greater demands for transparency, consultation and accountability.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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