"FIFA's democratic processes, independence and sporting authority were never for sale." That's Gianni Infantino, in a letter to all 211 FIFA member associations, trying to rebuild trust after the most embarrassing governance leak of his presidency.
The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal — a plan that would have seen U.S. investment fund Thrive Eternal, run by Joshua Kushner, purchase a stake in the men's and women's World Cup and other FIFA competitions — collapsed when it leaked to the media before it had even been formally presented to the Council. The damage was immediate. UEFA launched a legal filing in the United States accusing Infantino of "criminal mismanagement." FIFA fired back, calling it a "smear campaign." Neither side looks clean.
Two proposals, one problem
Ahead of the FIFA Council meeting on October 15, Infantino has put forward two reform options. The first: commission an independent external review of FIFA's governance framework. The second: establish a structured, time-limited consultation with confederations and member associations on how decision-making can be strengthened — covering the respective roles of the President, Bureau, Council, and Congress.
Whether either goes anywhere depends entirely on the 37-member FIFA Council, which has to actually want them. That's not guaranteed.
Infantino's framing of the FFE collapse is telling. He insists "it did not involve relinquishing FIFA's control or authority over sporting decisions" and that "it remained a proposal, not a decision." Which is technically true. But the reason it caused the reaction it did is that the process around it — secretive, rushed, leaked — looked exactly like something being pushed through before scrutiny could land.
The election nobody else is joining
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani both called on Infantino to step down. He declined. The FIFA election is in March, the deadline for rival candidates is November 18, and right now Infantino is running unopposed.
That context matters for everything he's proposing. A leader facing a genuine electoral challenge might be forced into real structural reform. A leader with no challenger can define what "reform" means on his own terms — and propose just enough to quiet the room without changing much underneath.
The FFE deal is dead. The legal battle with UEFA is very much alive. And Infantino, still the only name on the ballot, is asking the same institution he controls to decide whether to hold him to account.
