Infantino apologises over World Cup sell-off plan
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has apologised over his World Cup sell-off plan at the council meeting in Zurich on Thursday.
The council met for the first time since Infantino’s FFE proposal, which drew widespread criticisms from football enthusiasts.
The Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal will see a portion of FIFA’s commercial rights given to a private investment firm.
He was also questioned for the Balogun’s red card decision at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
According to FIFA Vice-president, Debbie Hewitt, Infantino apologised for informing the council before announcing the FFE proposal.
She said: “One of the disappointing things is that we didn’t get answers to anything that we had specifically requested – for example getting the papers from FFE.
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“I asked the question ‘why not?’ – and we were asked to submit those questions in writing.
“I think the man has to answer those questions and if he doesn’t answer those questions now, he’s not fit to be Fifa president – and that was what was shared in the meeting.”
Hewitt added: “I’ve repeatedly asked for the papers to be shared. I haven’t received them and still in spite of the request today, I haven’t received them.
“It is the rationale for why FFE happened in the way that it did, the Balogun case, the Peace Prize.
Infantino is expected to stand for re-election as Fifa president for a third time in March.
The likes of Arsene Wenger, Luis Figo and Michelle Kang have been mentioned as potential candidates from UEFA.
