Argentina, Mexico back Infantino after FIFA acknowledges mistakes in World Cup privatization plan

Halis Sunnetci

The football associations of Argentina and Mexico diverged from criticism voiced by their respective regional governing bodies Thursday, backing FIFA President Gianni Infantino after world football’s governing body apologized for mistakes in handling its failed proposal to sell stakes in competitions, including the World Cup.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) expressed support for Infantino’s leadership over the past decade, citing the development of football worldwide and what it described as institutional strength based on transparent governance.

“On behalf of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and its Executive Committee, we write to you, dear President, and through your esteemed good offices to the FIFA Executive Committee, to express our support for the work carried out over the last 10 years, which has centred on the development of football worldwide and institutional strength based on a clear, stable and transparent governance model,” AFA President Claudio Tapia said in an open letter.

The AFA welcomed FIFA’s decision to withdraw the proposal, which it said had generated “many more uncertainties than certainties” within the football community.

It also praised FIFA for acknowledging mistakes made during the process and apologizing to its 211 member associations.

The association said it believed the way forward was to continue working under Infantino’s leadership to develop “better and even more inclusive football.”

The AFA’s position, however, contrasted with concerns raised by South American governing body CONMEBOL, which criticized the lack of dialogue surrounding the proposal and expressed concern over unilateral decision-making.

Mexico backs Infantino

The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) also backed Infantino and stressed the importance of respecting FIFA’s institutional procedures.

“The FMF is convinced that football is the fundamental value and that its best defense rests on institutionalism and respect for governance and the processes that safeguard it,” the federation said.

The FMF said it would neither recognize nor approve any process convened outside FIFA’s institutional framework and supported Infantino’s call for collective efforts benefiting the organization’s 211 member associations.

“The FMF supports President Infantino’s leadership in continuing to promote the development of football through institutional strengthening,” it added.

Mexico’s stance broke ranks with CONCACAF, which governs football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean and has called for a “comprehensive reckoning” of Infantino’s presidency.

CONCACAF described the proposal as “a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first” and said “this recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behavior.”

FIFA apologizes over failed proposal

FIFA said Wednesday that it had apologized for mistakes related to the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which sought to establish a subsidiary valued at $20 billion to manage the commercial and event operations of the World Cup and other competitions.

The plan involved offering private investors a stake of up to 20% in the subsidiary but was withdrawn following widespread opposition.

After an emergency meeting in Rabat, Morocco, FIFA acknowledged that its Council and member associations had felt excluded from the process and said the proposal should have been handled differently.

FIFA said an apology had been sent to its Council and 211 member associations, along with a commitment to prevent similar errors.

The governing body said it would review the process and present a report at the next scheduled meeting of the FIFA Council.