RABAT, MOROCCO - FIFA President Gianni Infantino has convened an emergency meeting of the football body's senior leadership in Rabat, Morocco, as criticism continues to mount over his abandoned plan to sell stakes in FIFA's commercial and event operations.
The executive meeting comes after another day of public opposition from senior football officials over the now-scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
Among those who publicly distanced themselves from the plan were FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger, Secretary General Mattias Grafström, and Jordan Football Association President Prince Ali.
According to BBC Sport, the meeting is expected to include Mr. Grafström and several members of FIFA's senior management, including Chief Finance Officer Thomas Peyer, Chief Legal Officer Emilio Garcia Silvero, Chief of Staff Daniel O'Toole, Chief of Member Associations Elkhan Mammadov, and Media Relations Director Bryan Swanson.
In a statement issued through FIFA, Mr. Wenger said withdrawing the proposal was "absolutely necessary and beyond question."
He said he was not involved in developing the plan and only became aware of it through media reports.
"I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency and integrity," Mr. Wenger said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Grafström described the past week as "a sad and reproachable series of events" in an internal message to FIFA staff.
He urged employees to remain focused on serving football and FIFA's 211 member associations despite the ongoing controversy.
Prince Ali also criticised FIFA's leadership, alleging that the organisation withheld prize money owed to Jordan following the FIFA Arab Cup and suggested support for Mr. Infantino's re-election would help resolve the matter.
He described the alleged actions as amounting to "blackmail" and said Jordan would not endorse the FIFA president under such circumstances.
The controversy has already claimed one senior official, with Carlos Cordeiro, Mr. Infantino's senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigning after describing the proposal as "a bad deal for football" that would "mortgage football's future."
The crisis has intensified pressure on Mr. Infantino's leadership ahead of the 2027 FIFA presidential election.
Source: BBC Sport