Despite an apology from FIFA President Gianni Infantino regarding the attempt to sell World Cup equity, the backlash from European football shows no signs of abating.

Major foreign media outlets, including Reuters and AP, reported that President Infantino apologized regarding the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" (FFE) initiative during a FIFA Council meeting held on October 15 (local time) in Zurich, Switzerland.

President Infantino had sought to create FFE, a company dedicated to the commercial rights of FIFA tournaments such as the World Cup, and sell a portion of its equity to private investors.

According to AP, FFE was valued at USD 4.2 billion (approx. 5.6 trillion won), with investors led by Joshua Kushner—the younger brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law—set to acquire a stake of over 20%.

President Infantino withdrew the plan last July amid fierce opposition, led primarily by European football circles.

President Infantino did not face reporters following the closed-door council meeting, which lasted three hours and thirty minutes.

Instead, in a video statement released by FIFA, he said, "First, I apologized for the mistakes we made in the communication and consultation process regarding the FFE project, and for the many consequences that ensued from them."

He went on to say, "However, the important thing to remember is that it was merely a proposal and never a finalized matter."


Representatives of European football, who have demanded that President Infantino transparently disclose materials related to FFE, made no secret of their disappointment with him for failing to produce the relevant documents.

They are also displeased by the failure to explain the circumstances under which the red-card suspension of US national team forward Folarin Balogun at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup was deferred due to intervention by President Trump.

Bernd Neuendorf, president of the German Football Association (DFB) and one of the eight UEFA representatives on the 37-member FIFA Council, stated, "Not a single satisfactory answer was given."

"First of all, reforms are needed. That is a fact and everyone knows it," he said. "The entire outdated administration and governance must be reformed. But in my clear view, that is impossible with Infantino."

He added, "Therefore, a complete restart, a political restart, is necessary."

Debbie Hewitt, English Football Association (FA) chair and FIFA vice president, said, "If there is nothing to hide, they should share [the FFE documents] with us," adding, "Infantino must answer questions. If he does not answer, he is not fit to be FIFA president."

In a separate statement, FIFA explained, "(The details of FFE) remain confidential due to ongoing legal proceedings in the United States."

According to AP, UEFA has filed a lawsuit in a US court to secure evidence to criminally file a complaint against President Infantino in Switzerland.

In its court filing, UEFA alleged that President Infantino may have mismanaged FIFA finances in the process of valuing FFE's subsidiaries.

Voices of support from African football, a stronghold for President Infantino, remain unchanged.

Ahmed Yahya, president of the Mauritanian Football Association, said, "We (African nations) believe that Infantino is the right person to continue leading football," adding, "I am sure the majority want him to stay."

African nations account for 54 of FIFA's 211 member associations.

The council decided to review whether to continue presenting the FIFA Peace Prize in the future.

This award was created last December to be given to President Trump.

The FIFA presidential election will be held on March 18 next year in Rabat, Morocco.

The deadline for nominating challengers to run against President Infantino is November 18.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)