Infantino meets with top FIFA officials... Figo calls for his resignation

Rabat – AFP – FIFA President Gianni Infantino held an emergency meeting with top federation officials in Morocco on Wednesday, amid mounting criticism over a project that was later abandoned, which aimed to open the door for private-sector investors to enter the world’s highest football governing body.

The latest criticism came from former Portuguese star Luis Figo, who called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to resign, describing him as “deceitful.”

Figo wrote in the Daily Mail: “I could write ten thousand words about FIFA’s problems, but the solution requires only three words: Infantino must go.”

Since assuming the presidency of FIFA ten years ago, Infantino has proposed a number of controversial projects, the latest being his announcement last week of plans to create an external company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, to manage the federation’s commercial activities and tournaments, such as the World Cup, with the involvement of private-sector investors.

Over the past few days, several senior FIFA officials have distanced themselves from Infantino, including Frenchman Arsène Wenger, the federation’s current Director of Global Football Development, and Swedish Secretary-General Matthieu Chovaux.

Infantino remains the only declared candidate for re-election as FIFA president at the elections scheduled for March 2027 in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. He needs a majority of votes from the 211 member associations to win a new, final four-year term.