FIFA president Gianni Infantino faces criticism from England and Germany football chiefs over governance concerns and the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal
Infantino Faces FIFA Leadership Criticism From England, Germany
By Newsheadline247
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing renewed criticism from influential European football officials, with the heads of the English and German football associations questioning whether he remains fit to lead world football despite apologising over the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.
According to Reuters, Infantino apologised to the FIFA Council on Thursday over mistakes in communicating and consulting on the controversial proposal. However, he insisted that the plan had never been finalised and was only a proposal.
“First of all, I apologised for the mistakes that we made in relation to the communication and consultation process related to the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, which then led to many consequences,” Infantino said in a video published by FIFA.
“But what is important to remember is that it was a proposal, so in no way a done deal.”
The FFE proposal involved establishing a company to manage the commercial interests of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, with plans to sell a minority stake to private investors. Infantino said the initiative was intended to generate additional funding for FIFA’s 211 member associations.
His apology, however, has failed to ease concerns among some of Europe’s most influential football administrators, who argue that the controversy exposes deeper problems with transparency, consultation and governance at the organisation.
German Football Association president Bernd Neuendorf called for a fundamental overhaul of FIFA’s leadership and governance, insisting that the reforms required could not be achieved under Infantino.
“The first thing is we need reforms. That’s true. And everyone knows that,” Neuendorf said.
“The old administration has to be reformed, and the whole governance has to be reformed. But I’m pretty clear here in this that this is not possible with Gianni.
“So we need a complete restart, I think, a political restart.”
English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt also questioned Infantino’s continued suitability for the presidency, saying he must answer questions raised by FIFA Council members.
“I think the man has to answer those questions,” Hewitt said. “And if he doesn’t answer those questions, no, he’s not fit to be FIFA president.”
Neuendorf further questioned whether Infantino’s apology addressed the substance of the FFE proposal or merely the failure to consult the council before details emerged publicly.
“I didn’t have the feeling that this apology was because of the FFE project in total,” Neuendorf said. “My impression was it was just because it wasn’t brought forward to the council and no one was involved.”
He said council members had learnt about the initiative through media reports rather than from FIFA’s leadership, adding that representatives of other confederations had also raised concerns about the lack of consultation.
“When it came to the FFE project as such, I have the impression that this still was not included when he apologised,” he said.
For Hewitt, the dispute over consultation has strengthened the argument that FIFA should disclose the relevant FFE documents to council members and provide clear answers about how the proposal was developed.
“You have an obligation. We all have an obligation, a fiduciary responsibility to answer the questions that have been put forward,” Hewitt said.
“He told us to submit those questions. There were so many of them, and now it’s up to him to do that and do that in the open way.
“If there’s nothing to hide, then share (the FFE documents) with us… if you regret it that deeply, please share it with us.”
The dispute also formed part of broader calls for governance reforms at FIFA, with Hewitt arguing that meaningful changes would be difficult without a clear understanding of how controversial decisions had been reached.
She cited the FFE proposal, FIFA’s decision to suspend the automatic one-match ban imposed on United States forward Folarin Balogun following his World Cup red card, and the FIFA Peace Prize awarded to US President Donald Trump as issues requiring greater scrutiny.
“Unless we understand what happened, either it was a massive failing in governance because it wasn’t followed or actually the governance was followed, but there was something else that got to what we all felt in there was the wrong decisions,” Hewitt said.
“So we must understand what happened in order to be able to review it. Otherwise we’re guessing.”
The criticism of Infantino’s leadership was not shared by all FIFA Council members. Ahmed Yahya, president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, defended the FIFA chief, crediting his leadership with expanding football development and increasing funding for national associations.
Yahya also pointed to the expansion of the men’s World Cup to 48 teams as evidence of progress under Infantino.
“We (the African nations) believe Gianni is the right person to continue leading football,” Yahya said.
Asked whether most people wanted Infantino to remain in office, Yahya added: “I’m certain. The majority want Gianni to stay.”
The contrasting positions expose divisions over the direction of FIFA, with some officials demanding greater transparency and a leadership reset while others maintain that Infantino should continue overseeing the organisation’s development agenda.
