Gianni Infantino chose the venue for his next ceremonial coronation mass of all places to address the current crisis. On Wednesday, the badly weakened autocrat summoned his most important staff to a crisis meeting in Rabat, where the world governing body's next congress is scheduled for 18 March 2027, along with his final re-election as FIFA president. Whether it will come to that now looks more uncertain than ever. The noose around Infantino is tightening after his failed investor deal.
Close confidants are distancing themselves, blackmail allegations have emerged from Jordan, World Cup host cities are making accusations, and more member associations are officially withdrawing their support. The FIFA chief's problems are escalating almost by the hour. Reports by The Times and Sky UK did not make clear exactly what Infantino wants to discuss at the crisis talks in Morocco's capital. The Swiss will certainly also have to rebuild trust within his own ranks.
"Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate incidents come and go," FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafström wrote in an email to employees of the world governing body cited by several media outlets: "The institution, its mission and its responsibility to world football endure, and that is why we should always preserve our professionalism, our sense of the right perspectives and our composure."
FIFA director Arsene Wenger distances himself from Infantino
Mattias Grafström had previously been seen as a close confidant of Infantino, but he is not thought to have been informed about his boss's investor deal. FIFA director Arsene Wenger has also publicly distanced himself. "I was not involved in this plan and only learned of this project from the press," he wrote in a statement: "The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and undisputed."
Elsewhere, more and more side theatres are opening up. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, president of the Jordan Football Association, said the pressure on member associations to back Infantino in next year's re-election was "tantamount to blackmail". He and his association "did not support him in the past and most certainly will not do so now either", wrote Infantino's rival candidate in the 2016 FIFA presidential election on X. He also speculates that this may be why the team still have not been paid the bonuses for reaching the final of the Arab Cup organised by FIFA.
US World Cup cities apparently waiting for promised millions
Several host cities of the World Cup are also complaining about missing funds. The Athletic reports that four representatives of World Cup host cities told the outlet anonymously that staff from FIFA's leadership circle had verbally promised them one million dollars each in so-called "legacy" funds. The affected US cities are apparently still waiting in vain for the money.
Beyond those allegations, more nations are now drawing their conclusions from the collapsed backroom deal over the planned sale of stakes in the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments to investors. Greece has now also officially withdrawn its support for Infantino, while the Guardian reports that several nations from North and Central America as well as the Caribbean are also seriously considering the move.
By Wednesday morning, there were still no signs of a resignation from the head of the world governing body. Instead, he posted a stream of photos on his Instagram story recalling the recent World Cup and shared letters of support from individual associations.