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A top Fifa executive has described the failed attempt to bring in outside investors as a “reproachable series of events” that has thrown football’s governing body into “turmoil”, in a further sign of the internal unrest confronting Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
In a memo to staff seen by the FT, Fifa secretary-general Mattias Grafström wrote that the aborted plan to spin out a $20bn commercial entity was “difficult to comprehend and accept” and that he was thankful it had been ditched.
Grafström’s objection to Infantino’s closely guarded scheme to sell a stake in a new vehicle housing Fifa’s commercial and event operations follows criticism last week by Kevin Lamour, its chief operating officer, who said he and his colleagues had been “deceived”. Lamour described the scheme as “the project of one person”.
Separately, Arsène Wenger, Fifa’s chief of global football development, said in a statement on Tuesday that he was not involved in the plan. The former Arsenal manager added that the decision to abandon it was “absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent Fifa that serves our game with commitment, transparency and integrity”.
Infantino’s adviser Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker, resigned from his role last week in protest.
By selling a 20 per cent stake in the new company, known as Fifa Forward Enterprise, Infantino had intended to raise about $4bn to be distributed among Fifa’s members.
But he was forced to back down after a global backlash that has culminated in calls for a change at the top at Fifa. European governing body Uefa said on Saturday that it had “lost confidence” in the current Fifa leadership.
Concacaf, which runs the game in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, called the plan a “unilateral and egregious act of poor governance” and said a “full review” of Fifa’s leadership must now take place.
Grafström, who joined Fifa as chief of staff following Infantino’s election as its president in 2016, said the last week had been “extraordinary and challenging for all the members of Fifa staff”.
“Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go,” he wrote, adding that “the institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue”. The memo was first reported by Sky News.
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