Overview
- FIFA formally shelved the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal and issued an apology on Wednesday for mistakes in how the plan was handled, promising a review of the process.
- The FFE aimed to bundle World Cup commercial rights into a company valued at about $20 billion and sell roughly 20 percent to private investors to raise up to about $4.2 billion.
- At a crisis meeting in Rabat on Wednesday the FIFA secretary general and members of the management board present publicly reaffirmed their support for Infantino even as some senior executives and staff privately criticised the plan.
- UEFA has kept its threat to boycott FIFA competitions and several national associations, including the English FA, Wales, Serbia, Sweden and Finland, have withdrawn or declined to back Infantino’s re-election bid.
- Allegations of political pressure and investor ties — including Prince Ali’s public claim of 'blackmail' and reporting that Thrive Eternal led by Joshua Kushner was linked to investors — have sharpened legal and ethics scrutiny and raise the risk of a contested March 18, 2027 presidential vote.