Infantino to hold crisis meeting with senior FIFA staff

Under-pressure FIFA president Gianni Infantino will hold a crisis meeting with senior staff in Morocco on Wednesday. <p>Senior staff have been asked to attend the meeting in Rabat after the pressure on the Swiss ramped up on Tuesday as:</p><ul><li>Arsene Wenger and Infantino's number two criticised his plans to seek private investment in the World Cup</li><li>Jordan accused FIFA of "blackmailing" them over World Cup money in return for their support for Infantino</li><li>Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter backed Lise Klaveness to replace Infantino</li></ul><p>Infantino is now set for crunch talks on Wednesday with senior FIFA staff after he was forced to withdraw his plan to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a company to run the commercial and operational aspects of FIFA's tournaments.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/13568949/fifa-president-gianni-infantino-abandons-plans-to-sell-world-cup-profits-to-private-equity-after-widespread-criticism"><strong>Infantino abandons plans to sell off stake in World Cup</strong></a></li><li><strong><a href="http://dates,%20schedule,%20hosts,%20stadiums%20and%20how%20qualification%20works/">World Cup 2030: Dates, schedule, hosts, stadiums and how qualification works</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/live-blog/11095/13509050/world-cup-2026-news-and-live-updates-usa-canada-and-mexico-build-up-plus-latest-on-trump-tickets-and-fans"><strong>World Cup latest news</strong></a> | <strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/13271394/2034-world-cup-saudi-arabia-wins-right-to-host-mens-tournament-with-2030-world-cup-to-be-held-in-three-continents">Saudi Arabia to host 2034 World Cup</a></strong></li></ul><h3>Will Infantino resign at crisis meeting?</h3><p><em>Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:</em><br /><br />"This is going to be a very, very tense meeting. We don't know how it's going to end up.</p><p>"What is his stance going to be at this meeting? Is he going to throw in the towel and say, 'I can read the room. I can feel which way the wind is blowing. I'm losing support all over the world. I'm losing support inside FIFA as well. I'm going to do the honourable thing and resign.'</p><p>"Or is he going to say, 'I fight on. I'm the FIFA president. If you want me to leave, you're going to have to take me down. And I still believe that I have significant support around the world, especially in South America, Africa and Asia.'</p><widget id="7"></widget><p>"To get to the top of FIFA, you need to be a politician. And if you're a politician, surely you have some instincts. You can sense that you are losing support. You can sense that your position is untenable.</p><p>"You sense that you have to do the right thing and resign. Of course, it's going to be in terrible circumstances and he's going to resign in disgrace. If he does decide to resign, this is not the way he would have liked to go out.</p><p>"But he's made a cataclysmic error of judgment. And it was not just one quick decision that he got wrong. What we know is that he was plotting with some people close to him for quite a long time to sell off a stake in the World Cup to private investors.</p><p>"I haven't spoken to anybody who knows how FIFA works and how football politics works who thinks that Infantino can survive."</p><h3>Wenger says FIFA U-turn 'necessary'</h3><p>Former Arsenal manager Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, issued a statement on Tuesday saying he was "not involved" in the plan but that the decision to withdraw it was "absolutely necessary and beyond question".</p><p>Wenger had faced criticism in recent days for his silence over the FFE plans but spoke out on Tuesday to welcome the withdrawal of the project, adding: "I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity."</p> <widget id="3"></widget><p>FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, the second most senior figure in the organisation after Infantino, sent an email to FIFA staff addressing the "sad and reproachable series of events" of the last week "which thankfully concluded with the project being permanently abandoned".</p><p>Grafstrom also thanked FIFA staff for their efforts during the World Cup but accepted they had now been "thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept".</p><p>Grafstrom promised staff would be "defended and safeguarded from the political context we currently experience", pointedly adding: "Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue."</p><p>The comments from Wenger and Grafstrom follow the resignation last week of Infantino's senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, who described the FFE plan as a "bad deal for football".</p><h3>Jordanian FA president accuses FIFA of 'blackmail'</h3> <widget id="5"></widget><p>Infantino's crisis deepened on Tuesday when FIFA were accused of "blackmailing" Jordan over World Cup money in return for their support for Infantino to stay on as president.</p><p>The support of national associations in Asia could prove critical to his survival, but the president of the Jordanian Football Association, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, wrote on <em>X</em> that his organisation "certainly" would not endorse Infantino after alleging FIFA sought to secure his support by promising it would help with the recovery of money he said was owed to the JFA.</p><p>Prince Ali, who stood for the FIFA presidency in 2015 against Sepp Blatter and against Infantino the following year, hit out at the difficulties faced by Jordanian fans seeking to enter the United States for this summer's World Cup and the "exorbitant" price of tickets, and detailed the "huge costs" in taxes his association faced due to being based in the US rather than Canada or Mexico for the finals.</p><p>He then revealed Jordan was still awaiting prize money f...