Gianni Infantino holds crisis meeting in Morocco as FIFA stake sale fallout continues

Gianni Infantino will hold a crisis meeting with top FIFA officials in the wake of the collapse of his gambit to sell off commercial rights to the World Cup.

Gianni Infantino will hold a crisis meeting with top FIFA officials in Morocco on Wednesday as he looks to shore up his position in the wake of the collapse of his gambit to sell off commercial rights to the World Cup.

The FIFA president has been the subject of a torrent of criticism, and no small amount of personal abuse, since he floated the idea of the new commercial rights body to FIFA’s 211 member associations last week.

The proposed sale of 20% of the body to private investment to raise $4.2 billion, and the involvement of a company with family links to President Donald Trump, were just the most egregious flaws in the plan for its many critics.

First lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at last month's World Cup final in New Jersey. Maurice Van Steen / ANP via Getty Images fileHis backdown last Friday has done little to assuage those critics, most notably the European confederation UEFA, who accused him of selling the soul of the game and have said they no longer have confidence in his leadership.

That has cast a shadow over Infantino’s reelection for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March, which looked a foregone conclusion two months ago.