FIFA President Gianni Infantino has apologised to members of the FIFA Council over the way he handled a controversial proposal to open the commercial rights to the World Cup and other competitions to private investors.
The apology came during a three-and-a-half-hour council meeting in Zurich on Thursday, October 15, 2026, as the head of world football’s governing body faced renewed questions over transparency, consultation and leadership.
Infantino acknowledged mistakes in the communication and consultation process surrounding the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, which was subsequently abandoned following widespread opposition. However, he maintained that the plan had been a proposal rather than a concluded deal.
“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,” Infantino said in a video statement released after the meeting.
He added that the initiative had been intended to enable FIFA to invest more in its 211 member associations rather than replace funding from existing resources.
Despite the apology, officials from England and Germany said the meeting had not adequately addressed their concerns, leaving the dispute over Infantino’s leadership unresolved.
The controversy erupted in July 2026 when details emerged of the FFE project, which would have created a commercial entity to manage FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, and sold a minority stake to private investors.
The proposed deal was valued at approximately $4.2 billion, with investors expected to acquire about 20 per cent of the new entity. The initiative was presented as a way to generate additional revenue for FIFA and increase funding for its member associations.
On July 31, Infantino announced that the project had been scrapped, saying it had created divisions that were no longer in the interests of its original objectives. The withdrawal failed to end the controversy, with critics demanding greater transparency and an independent review of how the proposal was developed.
Infantino, who became FIFA president in 2016, has continued to receive support from several football leaders, particularly in Africa. Mauritanian football federation president Ahmed Yahya defended his leadership, pointing to increased development funding and the expansion of the men’s World Cup to 48 teams.
With FIFA’s next presidential election scheduled for 2027, the fallout from the failed proposal could become an important test of confidence in his leadership. For now, the apology has acknowledged shortcomings in the consultation process, but it has not resolved the broader questions about accountability, decision-making and the future direction of world football’s governing body.
