They met for almost four hours, but Gianni Infantino gave no satisfactory answers

FIFA President Gianni Infantino faced criticism during a nearly four-and-a-half-hour meeting in Zurich, with critics saying he did not provide satisfactory answers to questions raised about his controversial proposal for private investment in FIFA tournaments. Among those dissatisfied was UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, who left the venue shortly after the session ended without commenting further. The meeting, which marked Infantino's first encounter with opponents since his contentious proposal for the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, failed to satisfy critics. The FFE plan would have involved private investors in a company managing commercial interests for World Cups and other tournaments. Following reports by The Times detailing the FFE plans developed without informing FIFA’s world council, leaders from three continental federations, including UEFA, called for Infantino to step down. Infantino apologized, citing a lack of communication, but not specifically for abandoning the FFE project. When asked whether his apology was sincere, German Football Association president Bernd Neuendorf replied, “No, that has to be decided by him.” Infantino remains determined to seek a fourth term as FIFA president despite recent challenges to his leadership. He currently enjoys strong support, particularly after African football federation CAF unanimously backed him last week. He also has backing from South America, Oceania, and Asia. However, European hopes for change were further diminished following the meeting. England’s FA president and FIFA vice-president Debbie Hewitt stated, “He must answer those questions. Otherwise, he isn’t fit to be FIFA president. He told us to send him our questions. There were many, now it’s up to him to openly respond. If he has nothing to hide, at least show us the documentation regarding FFE.” The world council did not set a timeframe for responses from Infantino, especially concerning how he managed to bypass all FIFA institutions to draft the controversial financial plan for the World Cup product, involving fundraiser Joshua Kuschner, a close associate of US President Donald Trump. Infantino recently appeared to face difficulties regarding his future at the top of FIFA, yet he remains committed to running for a fourth term. According to Mauritanian council member Ahmed Yahya, “Trust in him has been lost. Now we need to develop new people and new ideas and determine how to put this organization, which is extremely important for world football, on solid foundations.” Symbolic decisions were made during the meeting. A working group will be established, led by FIFA vice-president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Its goal is to restructure FIFA’s management structure to prevent unilateral actions on major projects such as Infantino’s FFE initiative. Neuendorf emphasized that the primary objective is to ensure a fair election process for March 18, 2027, in Rabat, free from involvement by FIFA’s administration under Infantino’s leadership.