Infantino apologises to Fifa Council in Zurich but told he is not fit to lead
Fifa president Gianni Infantino apologised to the Fifa Council at a meeting in Zurich on Thursday over his World Cup sell-off plan, but council members said he is not fit to lead unless he releases all of the documents and answers key questions.
Gianni Infantino celebrated 10 years as Fifa president in February 2026. The Zurich meeting was the Council's first since the emergence and subsequent scrapping of Infantino's secret Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have handed a portion of the organisation's commercial rights to a private investment firm.
The three-and-a-half-hour meeting also addressed other issues, including Folarin Balogun's suspended red-card ban, the Fifa Peace Prize and funding for national associations. Council members raised specific requests for documentation and explanations related to the FFE plan during the session.
Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt, a Fifa vice-president, said many questions remained unanswered. "One of the disappointing things is that we didn't get answers to anything that we had specifically requested - for example getting the papers from FFE," Hewitt said, adding: "I asked the question 'why not?' - and we were asked to submit those questions in writing."
Hewitt said Council participants had made clear their expectation that Infantino provide direct answers. "I think the man has to answer those questions and if he doesn't answer those questions now, he's not fit to be Fifa president - and that was what was shared in the meeting." She also reported Infantino's apology, saying: "Infantino said in his apology... what he really apologised for was not bringing it to the council." Hewitt added: "If you regret it that deeply, share it with us."
Asked whether Uefa's stance on Infantino had changed, Hewitt replied: "From my position, nothing has shifted. "I've no new information that makes me feel any differently, other than we do have a president who is apologetic."
Council members said Infantino must release the requested FFE papers and respond to the written questions submitted by members; until those conditions are met they concluded he is not fit to be Fifa president.
