Infantino apologises for project to open FIFA World Cup to private sector investors

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, has apologized for the way the project to open the door for private sector investment in the FIFA World Cup was managed, but he did not provide satisfactory answers to questions regarding the project that was abandoned, according to statements from several members of the FIFA Council.

During a FIFA Council meeting held on Thursday in Zurich, Gianni Infantino apologized for the first time to the 37 council members, following the controversy sparked by the revelation of his secret project in early August, which faced widespread criticism that led UEFA, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, and the Asian Football Confederation to call for his departure.

Gianni Infantino said in a video posted on FIFA's official website: "I would first like to say that we apologize for the mistakes made in managing this project and the communication regarding it, and the many consequences that followed." He added that the discussions were constructive, confirming that it had not gone beyond the proposal stage and was not a final decision, and that the goal was to enable FIFA to increase its investments in member associations, not to replace existing financial resources.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino clarified that the federation is ready to receive questions from council members and respond to them in writing at the appropriate time, which has caused discontent among some opponents who are calling for immediate answers. Debbie Hewitt, Chair of the English Football Association and FIFA Vice President, stated that the council has not received answers to its specific requests, considering that Infantino's apology was effectively about not presenting the project to the council before proceeding with it.

Bernd Neuendorf, the president of the German Football Association, confirmed that he did not receive satisfactory answers to the raised questions, indicating that trust in Infantino has been lost, and calling for new figures to bring fresh ideas and restore the federation to serious foundations. In contrast, Ahmed Yahya, the president of the Mauritanian Football Federation, believed that the project served the interests of the game, considering that the flaw was in the way it was managed.

In conjunction with this crisis, the FIFA Council has approved an increase in the development plan budget to $6.35 billion over the next four years, equivalent to approximately €5.66 billion, with the proposal set to be presented at the FIFA conference scheduled for December for ratification.

Infantino stated that the plan will allow each of the 211 member associations to receive $25 million, noting that the amount of support allocated to each association has increased from $1 million to $25 million since he took over the presidency of FIFA ten years ago.

The meeting also saw a handshake between Infantino and Aleksander Čeferin, the president of UEFA, despite the ongoing sharp disagreements between them over the private investment project in the FIFA World Cup.