Infantino apologises to FIFA Council over abandoned World Cup rights plan
Gianni Infantino acknowledged mistakes in how FIFA discussed a proposed commercial rights company, but European officials said they were still waiting for documents and answers.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino apologised to the FIFA Council in Zurich on Thursday, 15 October, for mistakes in how an abandoned World Cup commercial rights proposal was communicated and discussed. European football officials said the meeting left their requests for documents and answers unresolved.
The proposal, known as FFE, would have created a company to manage commercial rights for FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, with a minority stake offered to private investors. Reports valued the proposed arrangement at $4.2 billion. The meeting was the council’s first since the plan emerged and was abandoned.
Why council members remain dissatisfied
Infantino said FFE had been a proposal, not a completed deal, and apologised for errors in communication and consultation, according to BBC Sport and The National, which reported his remarks from a FIFA video statement. He said the proposal was intended to generate additional funding for FIFA’s 211 member associations.
English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt said officials had requested papers on FFE but had not received them. She said council members seeking answers were asked to submit their questions in writing. German FA president Bernd Neuendorf said the meeting had provided no satisfactory answers and called for a complete restart of FIFA governance.
The proposal envisaged investors led by Joshua Kushner taking a minority stake, The National reported. Associated Press reported that investors would have owned at least 20% of the proposed company. AP also reported that UEFA had sought permission from US courts to obtain evidence for a criminal complaint in Switzerland; court filings alleged possible mismanagement of FIFA finances. Those allegations have not been established as findings of wrongdoing.
Other questions raised at the FIFA Council
Council members also asked about the suspension of US forward Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red-card ban and the FIFA Peace Prize awarded to US President Donald Trump. Hewitt said FIFA’s social committee would examine how the prize originated and was awarded, then report to the council in December for a decision on its recommendation.
NewsJaws previewed the council’s planned discussion of the abandoned rights proposal before the 15 October meeting. BBC Sport reported that Infantino declined to speak to or take questions from journalists afterward and that FIFA later released his video statement.
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Sources and context
- Infantino apologises for World Cup furore but leaves critics unhappyABC News, reporting credited to Associated Press (AP)
- FIFA President Infantino apologises to council but critics remain unhappyAl Jazeera, reporting by The Associated Press
- Gianni Infantino apologises to Fifa Council over World Cup sell-off planThe National
- Gianni Infantino: Fifa president apologises over World Cup move but told he must do moreBBC Sport
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.