Infantino, FIFA try to move beyond botched World Cup sell-off: What we know

FIFA’s bid to move past the ‌biggest internal crisis of President Gianni Infantino’s reign is unlikely to end scrutiny of how world football is governed as questions ⁠linger over whether promised reforms will ⁠lead to meaningful change before the March presidential election.

After FIFA’s leadership gathered in Rabat to publicly reaffirm support for Infantino , the governing body apologised on Wednesday to its 211 members for mistakes surrounding the abandoned proposal to ⁠sell a slice of the World Cup’s commercial future.

FIFA also pledged to review the processes that led to the controversy that sparked the fiercest revolt of Infantino’s decade-long tenure after national federations complained they had been sidelined.

In a statement issued after Wednesday’s meeting, FIFA acknowledged that the ⁠proposal “should have been handled differently” and said it was not its intention for the FIFA Council or associations to feel excluded from the process.

As the dust settles, a review will now be conducted before a report is presented to the council at its next meeting. The conciliatory tone marked a stark contrast with the increasingly public criticism that forced FIFA into a retreat.

However, FIFA can no longer dodge questions raised by several ‌confederations, leagues and national associations over how major strategic decisions are made and communicated, and the concerns extend beyond the doomed commercial rights proposal.

The European Leagues criticised FIFA over what it described as an unrealistically short four-week assessment timeline on a separate proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup from 48 to 64 teams.

The body, which represents more than 1,300 European clubs, reinforced complaints that stakeholders are too often presented with decisions rather than consulted on them.