Gianni Infantino will remain as Fifa president after receiving a formal statement of support from senior executives following a crisis meeting held in Rabat, Morocco.
The Fifa management board reaffirmed their backing of Infantino after he summoned members to the governing body’s Africa office on Wednesday amid mounting pressure over a controversial private investment proposal.
Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom signed a joint letter, seen by the BBC, apologising to Fifa’s vice-presidents, council and 211 member associations for errors made during the process.
The letter stated the pair “sincerely apologise” for their errors and “commit to them not happening again”, marking a significant public admission from the world football’s most powerful figures.
The controversy centres on the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal, which would have sold off stakes in competitions including both the men’s and women’s World Cups to private investors.
Uefa described the FFE proposal as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal” and said at the weekend that it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership of the governing body.
Grafstrom himself had previously circulated an internal memo to Fifa staff calling the situation “a sad and reproachable series of events”, making his subsequent public support all the more notable.
Criticism has also come from beyond football, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stating he no longer had confidence in Infantino following the recent World Cup his country co-hosted with the United States and Mexico.
Former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Portugal winger Luis Figo went further, calling on Infantino to immediately resign and declaring: “Infantino has debased the office that he promised to elevate. It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football.”
Despite the pressure, Infantino, 56, is expected to contest a fourth term, with rivals having until 18 November to register as candidates for the Fifa Congress election scheduled for March 2027 in Morocco.
A candidate requires 106 votes from Fifa’s 211 member associations to secure the presidency, and Infantino currently holds firm loyalty across parts of Asia and Africa.
Countries including Egypt, Morocco, Niger, Mauritania, DR Congo and the Philippines have all recently backed the incumbent, having benefited from Fifa Forward funding worth $8m per three-year cycle.
Infantino had offered all associations $40m if they backed the FFE proposal, a plan which drew fierce criticism partly because its intended beneficiary was Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
Fifa acknowledged during Wednesday’s meeting that it was “not the intention” for the council and member associations to “feel excluded from the process” and admitted the matter “should have been handled differently”.
The governing body also denied a Times report claiming Infantino had promised Morocco the hosting of the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support, calling it a “false and misleading” claim.
Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned over the proposal, though other senior figures including Grafstrom, Arsene Wenger and Kevin Lamour chose to remain in their roles.
Uefa’s position remains the most significant obstacle to Infantino’s continued presidency, particularly after all 55 of its member associations threatened to boycott Fifa competitions and the body raised the prospect of legal action.
However, Uefa faces a considerable challenge in building the global coalition necessary to realistically remove Infantino, with only Jordan among non-European associations publicly calling for his departure.
Infantino will now look to draw a line under a controversy that has threatened to define his decade-long tenure, with potential reforms around governance and transparency likely to be central to any recovery strategy.
