Sports desk (EFE).- FIFA acknowledged this Wednesday, in a meeting held in Rabat, that it made mistakes in its failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, through which it intended to sell World Cup shares to private investors, and warned that it will not tolerate “any attack” on its integrity and that it will take all “necessary measures” to defend its reputation.
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In a press release, the body explained that the FIFA Council and member associations did not intend for them to feel excluded from the process and admitted that it “should have been handled differently” and that mistakes were also made “after the proposal was leaked to the media.”
Furthermore, in a separate letter addressed to the FIFA Council and the member associations, apologies were offered for these errors “and a commitment was made to ensure they are not repeated,” for which a review will be carried out and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next meeting.
The Prime Minister of Canada spoke out
For his part, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated this Wednesday that he lost confidence in FIFA president Gianni Infantino following the attempted sale of shares to private investors.
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“I do not have confidence in Mr. Infantino at this moment, given what has occurred and the nature of what happened,” Carney declared in a press conference, a few weeks after Canada co-hosted, along with the United States and Mexico, the 2026 World Cup.
The proposed project valued the new company at about $20 billion and had as a potential lead investor Thrive Eternal, a fund linked to Thrive Capital and its founder, Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
UEFA agreed to boycott future FIFA competitions if the initiative went ahead, while Concacaf, the confederation to which Canada belongs, also rejected the project and subsequently celebrated its withdrawal.
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Carney, who was for years governor of the Bank of Canada and, subsequently, of the Bank of England, stated that Infantino’s decision to hide the FFE project from his closest advisors, his chief operating officer, and the members of the FIFA council “should be extremely serious.”
“This is not the way to run any business, not even a small company, let alone something that has a global responsibility like football,” he explained.
The relationship between Infantino and Trump
The episode adds to the criticism regarding Infantino’s close relationship with Trump. In December 2025, the FIFA leader presented the U.S. president with the first FIFA Peace Prize created by the organization and promised him the support of the football community.
During the World Cup, Trump also acknowledged that he called Infantino directly to ask him to review the sanction imposed on American striker Folarin Balogun. FIFA subsequently suspended the punishment, an intervention that fueled accusations of political interference and a lack of independence.
Infantino ended up withdrawing the FFE project, but the controversy weakened his position ahead of the FIFA presidential elections scheduled for March 2027 in Rabat.
Figures such as the former Portuguese footballer Luís Figo have publicly demanded his resignation, while speculation grows regarding a possible candidacy by the Canadian Victor Montagliani, president of Concacaf.
Carney avoided explicitly endorsing Montagliani, although he described him as “an exceptional individual”.
FIFA’s proposal to privatize the World Cup
“Following the withdrawal of the project, it was agreed that FIFA will no longer tolerate attacks on its integrity, good governance, and due process, and that it will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation. One always learns from this experience, and FIFA will continue to improve its processes. (…) While mistakes were made, everything that was done was carried out in full compliance with FIFA’s regulatory framework,” the note adds.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Secretary General Mattias Grafström, and members of its Board of Directors attended the meeting, where discussions focused “on the need to improve processes following the withdrawal of the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.”
According to the same version, the FIFA Secretary General and the members of its Board of Directors backed Infantino, who for his part reiterated his “full support” for Mattias Grafström -a critic of the FFE project- and for the FIFA administration “for their necessary and exceptional work in achieving its vision.” All parties agreed that the processes, communications, and interactions between them “can and must be continuously improved in terms of their effectiveness and efficiency.”
“World Cup Success”
It was also recognized “the magnificent work” carried out by the FIFA administration “which guaranteed the success of the World Cup” and which “would not have been possible” without all the parties involved “speaking with one voice and working as one team”.
“In this regard, FIFA’s senior management is fully confident that the results of today’s meeting will strengthen FIFA’s governance, help restore trust in the organization, and allow us to prepare for the major events and challenges ahead in a united and transparent manner, while we continue our mission to develop football throughout the world,” the text adds.
