More key FIFA staff break ranks as Infantino’s World Cup plan faces mutiny

Published 4 August 2026 · sports

Battle lines are being drawn within FIFA as key figures break ranks with President Gianni Infantino over failed selloff. The crisis triggered ⁠by FIFA President

Battle lines are being drawn within FIFA as key figures break ranks with President Gianni Infantino over failed selloff. The crisis triggered ⁠by FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s abandoned proposal to sell off a stake in the World Cup has deepened, with influential executives publicly distancing themselves from the project while scrambling to contain the damage. After three days of unprecedented civil war in the world of football administration last week, Infantino backed away from his plan to raise $4.2bn from a new ⁠commercial rights body late on Friday night. The 56-year-old apologised for how the proposal, which would have brought private investment into the World Cup for the first time, had divided the game. But his once-unassailable bastion of power at the top of the global governing body was shattered. FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom sent an internal message to staff lamenting the “sad and reproachable series of events” that led to the project being “permanently abandoned”, two sources have revealed. “We have all been ⁠thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept,” Grafstrom wrote in the letter without mentioning Infantino by name. “But, as Secretary General, I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us: serving football and serving our 211 Member Associations, hand in hand with all relevant stakeholders and in full compliance with the FIFA Statutes and FIFA Regulations. “Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue, and that is why we should always keep our professionalism, sense of perspective and composure.” Arsene Wenger, the chief of Global Football Development at FIFA and technical adviser to the rule-making body the International Football Association Board (IFAB), said he was not involved in the proposal and only learned about it through media reports.

“The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity,” Wenger said in a statement. The responses from Grafstrom and Wenger come after ⁠Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned with ⁠immediate effect on Friday, calling the plan “a bad deal for football”. Later that same day, FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour said staff were “deceived” by Infantino, describing the proposal as a “project of one person”. Confederations prepare to stand against Infantino One media report suggested three regional confederations had united to try to force Infantino out of office, while UEFA on Tuesday confirmed to Al Jazeera that it has sent a legal request – a document preservation letter – to the sport’s governing body. Five European national associations, including England’s FA, have formally withdrawn their backing for his re-election at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March, while Denmark’s said it was never going to vote for him in any case. The federations of Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Sri Lanka have publicly declared their continued support for the Swiss-Italian football executive, who has run FIFA since 2016 and wants to stay on until 2031. Infantino has also attempted to boost his own image by amplifying their statements on Instagram while FIFA dismissed as “pure fiction” a report that he had sought support from US President Donald Trump’s administration to stay in power. The numbers with firm public positions are small – 211 national federations will vote at the FIFA ⁠Congress – but blindsiding major stakeholders in the game with his proposal has clearly lost Infantino allies among the regional confederations.