Infantino holds crisis talks in Rabat as he seeks support ahead of March re-election
Gianni Infantino is continuing to fight for his future after holding crisis talks with senior officials in Rabat on Wednesday. He has spent the last week in Morocco following Throne Day celebrations and remains under pressure amid the controversy over Fifa’s proposals.
Infantino attended Throne Day celebrations to mark the 27th anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s accession and was at a Women’s African Cup of Nations match on Wednesday evening at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, where he sat alongside his No 2 at Fifa, the secretary general Mattias Grafström. Grafström had described the Fifa Forward Enterprise as a “sad and reproachable series of events” in an email to the organisation’s staff.
The president decided to travel to Africa and to South America in the wake of the storm over Fifa’s proposals to sell off 21% of the World Cup. Those confederations are identified in reports as his biggest supporters amid the dispute.
Neither the Confederation of African Football nor Conmebol have joined a Uefa-led rebellion against the Fifa Forward Enterprise sell-off, and both confederations are described as remaining steadfast in their support. Infantino is seeking to mobilise backing in Morocco to help secure support in the Middle East, which is likely to become a vital battleground in determining the outcome of the vote for his re-election in March.
The Asian Football Confederation does not vote as a bloc, leaving Infantino to lobby individual countries if, as expected, Uefa and the North American confederation Concacaf succeed in finding a candidate to stand against him in next year’s presidential election at Fifa’s congress, which will also take place in Rabat.
Few details have emerged about Wednesday’s meeting beyond the attendance of Fifa’s general secretary Mattias Grafström and chief legal officer Emilio García Silvero, and Infantino’s stated determination to carry on.
The Times reported that Infantino has offered Morocco a guarantee they will stage the 2030 World Cup final, which they will host jointly with Spain and Portugal, in return for their assistance in lobbying other countries; Fifa denied the report. “It is false and misleading to claim the Fifa president has made any promise in relation to hosting the Fifa World 2030 final,” it said in a statement. “A decision will be made by Fifa in due course.”
Infantino will fly to Colombia on Thursday to attend the inauguration of the country’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, in the city of Cali.