Gianni Infantino apology fails to sway England, Germany over FIFA future

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has failed to escape criticism despite apologising amid the controversy. He expressed regret to the FIFA Council over the scrapped “FIFA Forward Enterprise” (FFE) project, but representatives of two of Europe’s most influential football nations, England and Germany, were not satisfied. They said the necessary administrative reforms of world football’s governing body cannot be achieved under the current leadership.

In a video message released after the FIFA Council’s closed-door meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, Infantino admitted there were mistakes in the communication and consultation process around the FFE project. He insisted, however, that it was only a proposal and that no final decision had been taken.

The FFE plan at the centre of the row aimed to create a separate entity to run the commercial operations of FIFA’s competitions. Besides managing the commercial rights to the World Cup and other tournaments, it also included a plan to sell minority stakes to private investors. Infantino said the initiative was meant to raise additional money for FIFA’s 211 member nations.

But anger has built among part of the Council because the project was not properly discussed at FIFA’s top level. German Football Association (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf said Infantino’s apology was not enough. He alleged that the president mainly regretted not consulting Council members, rather than the way the decision on the project was made.

Neuendorf also directly questioned Infantino’s leadership. In his words, FIFA needs major administrative reform, but that cannot happen with Infantino in charge. The organisation, he said, needs a “complete restart”. He also called it worrying that Council members first learned of such an important project through the media.

Debbie Hewitt, chair of England’s Football Association (FA), also demanded clear accountability from Infantino. She said the president must give satisfactory answers to Council members’ questions, or his fitness to remain in office will be called into question.

Hewitt called for all documents related to the FFE project to be made public. She also sought transparency over the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red card punishment and over how the decision was reached to award the “FIFA Peace Prize” to US President Donald Trump.

In contrast to the criticism from Europe, a section of Africa’s football leadership still stands by Infantino. Ahmed Yahya, president of the Mauritanian Football Federation, said football has developed worldwide under Infantino’s leadership, national associations’ funds have grown, and the number of World Cup teams has been expanded from 32 to 48.

Overall, the controversy over the FFE project is no longer confined to a single commercial venture. It has raised bigger questions about FIFA’s leadership, the transparency of its decision-making and its administrative accountability. Whether Infantino’s apology can answer those questions remains uncertain.