FIFA President Gianni Infantino has apologised over the handling of a controversial proposal to sell a stake in the governing body's commercial rights to private investors.
Infantino made the apology during a FIFA Council meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, October 15, acknowledging shortcomings in how the proposal was communicated and how council members were consulted.
The now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project involved plans to establish a company to manage commercial interests linked to FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, with a minority stake potentially offered to private investors.
Despite the apology, FIFA Vice-President and English Football Association Chair Debbie Hewitt expressed dissatisfaction over Infantino's failure to provide documents relating to the proposal, which council members had requested ahead of the meeting.
Hewitt questioned why the documents had not been released and said council members were instead instructed to submit their questions in writing.
She argued that access to the documents was necessary for council members to properly scrutinise the proposal and understand how it had been developed.
Hewitt also questioned whether Infantino's apology adequately addressed the concerns raised, noting that acknowledging poor consultation was different from explaining the details of the proposed arrangement.
The FIFA Vice-President warned that continued failure to provide answers could raise serious questions about Infantino's leadership of world football's governing body.
German Football Association President Bernd Neuendorf also expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, calling for greater transparency and improvements to FIFA's governance.
FIFA, however, maintained that details of the proposal remained confidential because of ongoing legal proceedings in the United States.
The governing body confirmed that the FFE proposal had been permanently withdrawn and would not be revived in another form.
Infantino defended the original intention behind the initiative, explaining that it was designed to generate additional revenue for football development across FIFA's 211 member associations.
The controversy has renewed scrutiny of FIFA's decision-making processes, with questions remaining over the proposed commercial arrangement and the level of information made available to members of its governing council.
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