Infantino holds emergency FIFA talks as pressure grows

Harry Archie August 5, 2026

FIFA president Gianni Infantino held emergency talks with senior FIFA officials in Morocco on Wednesday, a source told AFP, as criticism continued over his abandoned plan to bring private investors into the World Cup.

Infantino has faced growing pressure, including from within FIFA, since dropping the proposal on Saturday. Some officials and former players have also called for him to resign.

According to reports, Infantino tried to win support from former players known as “FIFA Legends”. But former Portugal star Luis Figo rejected the appeal and urged him to step down.

“I could write 10,000 words about FIFA’s problems. But the solution only needs three words: Infantino must go,” Figo wrote in the Daily Mail.

He accused the FIFA president of putting personal interests ahead of football and said there was no place for such leadership in the game’s future.

Among those believed to have attended the meeting was FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, whose internal email criticising the proposal was leaked on Tuesday.

The meeting took place at FIFA’s Africa regional office in Sale, near Rabat, where Infantino was attending Morocco’s recent Throne Day celebrations.

Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup, and its football federation president, Fouzi Lekjaa, remains one of the few senior officials to publicly support Infantino. He praised the decision to withdraw the investment plan, saying it helped preserve unity in world football.

Infantino had hoped to secure a fourth and final term as FIFA president in next March’s election, with no challenger officially declared.

However, the situation changed after FIFA unveiled plans last week to create a new commercial company, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), and sell a 20 percent stake to private investors.

FIFA said the plan could raise up to $4.2 billion and allow each of its 211 member associations to receive a one-off payment of $20 million in 2027, while also increasing future funding.

Instead, the proposal triggered strong opposition.

UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if the plan went ahead, while CONCACAF criticised Infantino’s leadership and called for a full review of his presidency.

Grafstrom’s leaked email added to the pressure, describing the controversy as “a sad and regrettable series of events” while stressing that FIFA’s responsibility to world football must remain its priority.