Infantino’s apology fails to silence Fifa critics

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has apologised for his handling of a controversial proposal to sell commercial interests in the World Cup to private investors, but the concession has failed to satisfy senior European football officials demanding greater transparency.

The apology came during a three-and-a-half-hour Fifa Council meeting in Zurich on Thursday, the first since details emerged of the abandoned Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.

Under the scheme, a minority stake in a new commercial enterprise involving Fifa competitions, including the World Cup, would have been offered to private investors, potentially raising billions of dollars.

Infantino acknowledged shortcomings in the way the proposal had been communicated and discussed with football's governing bodies.

However, English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt and German football federation president Bernd Neuendorf remained dissatisfied, saying important questions had not been answered and relevant documents had not been disclosed.

Hewitt indicated that the meeting had provided no substantive new information to change her concerns about Infantino's leadership.

Neuendorf called for a fundamental change in Fifa's governance arrangements, with European representatives questioning whether Infantino should continue as president without greater accountability.

The dispute extends beyond the abandoned commercial proposal. Council members also raised questions about the suspension of a disciplinary sanction against United States international Folarin Balogun and Fifa's decision to award a peace prize to US President Donald Trump.

Fifa maintained that the FFE initiative had never been a concluded agreement and was intended to generate additional funding for football development worldwide.

In a statement following the meeting, Infantino confirmed that he had apologised for mistakes relating to the withdrawn proposal.

Hewitt argued that Council members had a fiduciary responsibility to seek answers and examine the documents behind the proposed transaction.

The criticism, however, was not unanimous. Mauritanian football federation president Ahmed Yahya defended Infantino, citing increased development funding and the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams as achievements of his presidency.

Infantino, who has led Fifa since 2016, now faces a potentially significant challenge to his leadership ahead of the organisation's presidential election in March 2027.

Sources: Reuters, 15 October 2026; BBC Sport, 15 October 2026; Associated Press, 15 October 2026; The Independent, 15 October 2026.