FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called an emergency gathering in Morocco, hoping to turn the tide of a crisis that threatens his grip on world football's governing body.
A crisis at FIFA's heart
The heart of the controversy is a proposal to auction roughly 20% of FIFA’s commercial revenues from the next three World Cups, a move that would channel billions into a private pool and has already drawn fire from UEFA, which labelled the plan as selling the soul of the sport.
The scheme, backed by a coalition that includes several African associations, promised $4.2 billion in upfront cash, but internal dissent grew after a leaked memo from Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom declared the project 'permanently abandoned', and after the resignations of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro in protest.
Opposition is coalescing across continents; UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation have warned they could freeze FIFA’s operations or launch rival tournaments if Infantino refuses to step down, while nations such as Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Indonesia have publicly voiced support for the embattled president.
The financial incentives on offer — dividends of $20 million to $40 million for each backing association — have added a layer of bargaining, even as the vote of San Marino carries the same weight as that of Brazil or Germany, and as Prince Ali bin Hussein accuses FIFA of 'blackmail' for tying support to endorsement.