FIFA's leadership issued an apology on Wednesday, August 6th, 2026, for President Gianni Infantino's controversial proposal to open the World Cup to private investment. The apology followed a crisis meeting held after widespread outrage over the plan and Infantino's role.

The FIFA management board acknowledged that "errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media." Subsequently, Infantino scrapped the plan.

In a statement following a meeting in Rabat, Morocco, the FIFA Secretary General and members of the FIFA Management Board reaffirmed their full support for Infantino, describing him as "the only official elected by the 211 FIFA Member Associations."

FIFA also sent a separate letter to FIFA Council members and all 211 member associations apologizing for the incident and promising a review. The organization emphasized it would "no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, ‌good governance and due process," vowing to take all necessary measures to protect its reputation.

Despite growing calls for Infantino to step down since the plan was abandoned on Saturday, FIFA's leadership remains behind the president.

Sources