Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), has arrived at a decisive meeting in Morocco under mounting pressure. On Wednesday, Portuguese football legend Luis Figo became the latest prominent figure to demand his resignation.
Infantino had summoned senior FIFA officials to the Moroccan city of Salé for crisis talks. The move followed last week's leak of plans to sell stakes in the World Cup worth 3.1 billion pounds sterling.
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Widespread opposition forced the Swiss official to backtrack on those proposals, opposition that included a rebellion within FIFA's own ranks.
Both the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) want Infantino gone. UEFA have officially announced they have withdrawn their confidence in the FIFA president.
Jordan's position
The pressure ramped up further when Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, president of the Jordan Football Association, accused him of practising blackmail. That made Jordan the first Asian country to rebel against him.
Jordan also became the 91st member to move against Infantino, on the assumption that every UEFA and CONCACAF member state adopts the position of their continental confederation. His opponents need the support of 106 national associations to remove him from his post.
A car carrying Infantino arrived at FIFA's regional office for Africa in Salé on Wednesday morning, according to the British newspaper"Daily Mail".
According to "The Times", associates of Infantino tried to persuade the "FIFA Legends" group to publicly declare their support for him. The attempts failed.
That group includes a number of former international football stars who are paid to take part in the official events and activities FIFA organises.