Infantino Apologizes During FIFA Meeting Regarding World Cup Plan

Senior officials at the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) said that its president, Gianni Infantino, did not provide “satisfactory answers” when he was questioned on Thursday during a meeting dedicated to discussing his attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, although he offered an apology for the project that ultimately failed.

Bernd Neuendorf, president of the German Football Association and a FIFA council member, said, “We raised a large number of critical questions, but in my view, there were no satisfactory answers.”

Neuendorf was speaking after a closed-door FIFA council meeting at the organization’s headquarters in Zurich, where Infantino’s proposal for “FIFA Forward Enterprise” was one of the key items on the agenda.

Infantino has faced intense pressure since he announced in late July his intention to open the door for private investors to enter FIFA’s major tournaments, such as the World Cup.

However, the plan was ultimately scrapped amid widespread criticism, following a rebellion led by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Asian Football Confederation, and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

Debbie Hewitt, president of The Football Association and FIFA vice-president, told journalists, “I think we were given the opportunity to express how we feel, and we spoke a lot about these issues,” before adding that Infantino had offered an apology.

She added, “I think it is fair to say that Gianni initially apologized for what happened, and did so with a sense of regret, after which the discussion was fully open regarding our feelings about what occurred.”

Hewitt and Neuendorf are among the 36 members of the FIFA Council, alongside Infantino.

Infantino has led the international federation since 2016 and intends to run for a new term in March next year, despite calls for his resignation following the “FIFA Forward Enterprise” plan.

So far, no prominent candidate has announced their intention to challenge him.

Hewitt said, “We were asked to submit our questions” regarding the plan, which was not presented to the FIFA Council before its announcement in July.

She added, “It is disappointing that we did not receive answers. We did not receive answers on any of the specific items we requested, such as obtaining the plan’s documents, so we asked why.”

Several major European national federations have withdrawn their support for Infantino in the upcoming elections due to the controversy sparked by the investment plan and other issues, including his relationship with US President Donald Trump.

Among the most prominent of these issues was Infantino’s decision to create the “FIFA Peace Award” and present it to Trump during last December’s World Cup draw, as well as his decision to lift the suspension imposed on US forward Folarin Balogun after his red card during the World Cup, following direct intervention by Trump, who contacted Infantino.

Hewitt said, “I am speaking for myself as a council member. In my view, nothing has changed. I have no new information that makes me feel differently from what I felt when I entered the meeting, except that we have a FIFA president who feels regret about what happened, and secondly, a renewed promise that we will receive the information we requested.”

The international federation was expected to present a plan during the council meeting to establish a $6.35 billion development fund for the next four years.

To finance the fund, which will allow money to be distributed among FIFA’s 211 member associations as well as the continental confederations, a portion of the federation’s financial reserves will be used, following the expected commercial success of the 2026 World Cup.