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FIFA underscores 211 federations’ role ahead of Morocco congress on Infantino
FIFA said its statutes and democratic procedures must be followed in any process to remove Gianni Infantino or elect a new president. Ahead of a congress planned for next March in Morocco, the decision-making authority of 211 member federations and a controversial proposal on commercial rights have returned to the agenda.
As debate over Gianni Infantino’s future continues, FIFA said any process to remove the president or elect a new one must comply with the organization’s statutes and democratic rules.
The organization said Infantino was elected through the democratic votes of its member federations and remains in office with the mandate granted by those federations. FIFA also said that individuals or organizations unable to win the support of the federations should not try to achieve through allegations, insinuations or misleading information results they could not obtain through democratic means.
FIFA rejects false reports
FIFA said some reports recently published about the organization and its president contained baseless and plainly false allegations. The organization announced that it would respond directly and forcefully to reports it considers inaccurate or misleading.
The statement did not name the individuals or organizations accused of trying to weaken Infantino’s position. FIFA also did not identify the reports containing those allegations.
FIFA rejects payment allegation
FIFA’s statement followed a report published by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The report claimed that Infantino had used his influence while serving as UEFA general secretary from 2009 to 2016 to arrange for UEFA to pay a former employee with whom he had had a romantic relationship.
FIFA said the allegation was baseless and untrue.
Commercial rights plan at center of debate
Pressure on Infantino’s future as FIFA president intensified after a proposal to sell stakes in the commercial rights to the World Cup and other tournaments was withdrawn.
Following a crisis meeting held in Morocco on August 5, the organization apologized to its 211 member federations for mistakes made in the proposal to sell stakes in the tournaments to investors. FIFA later shelved the proposal.
The plan envisaged selling private-sector investors stakes of up to 20 percent in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, and raising approximately $4.2 billion to develop football.
The involvement in the process of a company with family ties to U.S. President Donald Trump led to widespread debate over the proposal. UEFA and some other parties accused FIFA of poor governance and failing to conduct adequate consultations.
Football confederations take different positions
UEFA said it no longer trusted Infantino. Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation, called for Infantino’s resignation on Friday.
The Confederation of African Football supported Infantino on Thursday. The South American Football Confederation also announced that it would not accept any attempt to remove Infantino without the votes of all FIFA member federations.
FIFA’s emphasis on the decision-making authority of its 211 member federations has brought to the fore the question of whether Infantino will seek a fourth term at the congress planned for next March in Morocco. No prominent candidate has so far announced plans to run against Infantino.
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