Infantino apologizes for mistakes, remains at Fifa head - for now

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has apologised for mistakes he made over a plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors and will remain at the helm of FIFA after receiving the backing of top executives at an emergency meeting in Morocco.

Infantino summoned board members to Fifa's Africa office in Rabat on Wednesday after mounting criticism over his rejected proposals, and world football's governing body issued a statement of support four hours after the meeting ended, the BBC reports.

European football's governing body, UEFA, said over the weekend that it had lost confidence in Infantino, calling his proposal a "pathetic, secret and non-transparent deal behind closed doors".

Much of the criticism came from within FIFA itself, including from Secretary General Matthias Grafström, who attended Wednesday's meeting. In an internal memo sent to FIFA staff on Tuesday, he wrote that the situation represented "a sad series of events worthy of reproach."

However, in a statement after the meeting, Grafström and the board of directors "reaffirmed their full support" for Infantino as president.

Infantino and Grafström also sent a signed letter, seen by the BBC, to Fifa's vice-presidents, the Council and 211 member associations, stating that they "sincerely apologise" for their mistakes and "commit to ensuring that they will not be repeated".

Fifa said that during Wednesday's meeting, "errors were acknowledged" regarding the rejected plan, stating that "it was not the intention" for the Fifa Council and member associations to "feel excluded from the process, and that the process should have been conducted differently."

The umbrella organization added that it "acknowledges that mistakes were made even after the proposal was leaked to the media," given that The Times first published the story about Infantino's plan on July 28.

However, the statement also states that the organization "will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and preserve its name and reputation."

Earlier, Fifa denied a Times story that Infantino had promised Morocco to host the 2030 World Cup finals in exchange for support.

Fifa said the claim was "false and misleading" and that a decision on where the final would be held, given that the tournament is also hosted by Spain and Portugal, would be made "in due course".

Infantino proposed the creation of a $20 billion company to manage the World Cup with private investors, including the Kouchner family, which was met with harsh condemnation.

Members of the European Football Association (Uefa) have agreed to boycott the World Cup and other Fifa competitions if the plan is implemented, while CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation have also opposed it.

Despite Infantino's withdrawal of the proposal, Uefa said it would work with other confederations to ensure a similar proposal "never happens again".

Although Infantino has retained the support of some members, there are many who have denied him that support ahead of the FIFA presidential elections scheduled for March in Rabat.