FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström and global football development chief Arsène Wenger distanced themselves on Tuesday from president Gianni Infantino's failed plan to bring private investors into a new World Cup business, deepening a leadership crisis at football's global governing body. Le Monde reported that Grafström described the episode in an August 4 email to staff as a regrettable series of events and stressed that the FIFA Forward Enterprise project had been permanently abandoned. Wenger separately said withdrawing the proposal was necessary and beyond dispute, according to reports carried by European media.
The plan envisaged a new commercial entity valued at about $20 billion that would control FIFA's lucrative tournament and commercial operations through at least 2038. Reuters reported when the proposal emerged that FIFA was working with JPMorgan and considering an external stake of as much as 20 percent. The Associated Press later reported that the scheme aimed to raise $4.2 billion and offered FIFA's 211 national associations one-time payments of $20 million if they accepted it. Infantino abandoned the proposal early Saturday after opposition spread across continental confederations.
Grafström's message is especially significant because FIFA's secretary general is its senior administrative official. According to Le Monde, he told employees that staff had been placed in turmoil that was difficult to understand and promised to protect the administration from the current political context, without naming Infantino. The newspaper said the email followed criticism from chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who characterized the initiative as the work of one person, and the resignation of Infantino adviser Carlos Cordeiro. The remarks indicate that objections now reach the top of FIFA's own management.
External pressure is also growing. AP reported that UEFA's lawyers sent FIFA a formal notice saying the European body was considering legal action, arbitration or regulatory complaints connected to the project. The notice instructed 18 FIFA executives to preserve relevant records and warned against destroying or altering potential evidence. UEFA's 55 associations had agreed to boycott FIFA events while the plan remained active, while the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf also opposed it. The plan's withdrawal ended the immediate boycott threat but did not settle questions about how it was developed.
The dispute could now shape FIFA's next presidential election, scheduled for March 2027. AP reported that UEFA is seeking an alternative candidate, while El País said several European federations are resisting Infantino's bid to remain president through 2031. Any challenger faces the task of assembling support across FIFA's 211 members, many of which backed Infantino before the controversy. Attention will next focus on whether UEFA files proceedings, whether FIFA opens an internal governance review and whether the widening criticism inside the organization produces a credible opponent before the November nomination deadline.
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