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4 August 2026

Gianni Infantino has called senior FIFA officials to an emergency meeting in Morocco on Wednesday as he battles to protect his presidency.

The move follows another damaging day for the under-pressure FIFA president on Tuesday, when FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom became the latest ally of Infantino to criticise the plan to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing mounting pressure after his failed plan to sell part of the World Cup.

In an internal email sent to FIFA staff on Tuesday, Grafstrom described Infantino’s now-abandoned World Cup sell-off plan as “a sad and reproachable series of events”. At the same time, Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, distanced himself from the proposals and said the decision to drop them was “absolutely necessary”.

After UEFA said on Saturday that it had lost confidence in Infantino in a strongly worded rebuke, an increasing number of national associations have also pulled their support from the FIFA president. In another twist on Wednesday, the president of the Jordan FA publicly accused Infantino of “blackmail”.

Infantino, who had been sharing messages of support from some national associations on his personal social media, has not appeared in public since FIFA announced in the early hours of Saturday morning that it was abandoning its efforts to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors.

The Swiss official, who intends to seek re-election next March, has been in Morocco since last week, when he attended an event marking the 27th anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s accession to the throne. Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup along with Spain and Portugal, and is keen to host the final.

Alongside secretary general Grafstrom and Wenger, Infantino also came under more pressure last week from two other senior FIFA figures. His senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest over the World Cup sell-off proposals, before FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff had been “deceived” over the plans.

Infantino may now try to persuade senior FIFA figures that he is capable of steering the governing body through its latest crisis, but criticism of his leadership and demands for greater transparency have continued without pause in the days since his secret World Cup sell-off plans dramatically fell apart.

Swedish official Grafstrom, one of FIFA’s most senior executives, said in his email to staff that although the turmoil surrounding FIFA is “difficult to comprehend and accept.... individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go”.

Former Arsenal manager Wenger said he had no knowledge of the plans before media reports emerged about FIFA selling stakes in its tournaments to private investors. He added that FIFA must serve the game with “commitment, transparency, and integrity”.

Arsene Wenger has spoken out about Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in a company set up to run the World Cup.

Jordan FA president Prince Ali bin Hussein then accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of “blackmail” after the collapse of his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup. FIFA is aware of Prince Ali’s remarks and has so far declined to comment.

“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values,” Prince Ali said, while setting out a long list of problems Jordan have faced over recent months. “We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now. But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”

The Football Association is expected to follow the Football Association of Wales in publicly withdrawing support for Infantino, while UEFA’s opposition to his plans was also backed by two other confederations, in Asia and CONCACAF.

UEFA confirmed that it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership after he reversed course on the plans, criticising the “shabby, backroom deal”, and has written to the FIFA president to confirm it is “actively considering” legal action over the sell-off scheme.

However, on Wednesday five influential African football figures publicly declared their support for Infantino. Senior members of the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee, including CAF vice-president Fouzi Lekjaa of Morocco, have reaffirmed their backing for him.

The football federations of Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Indonesia have also said they continue to support Infantino, while FIFA dismissed as “pure fiction” a report claiming Infantino had sought backing from US President Donald Trump’s administration to remain in power.