Infantino says ready to discuss FIFA reform

The president of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino proposed to conduct an external audit of how the leadership of the organization makes important decisions. He said in a letter to members of the organization’s board and the presidents of all 211 national associations.

“First of all, I will ask the Council whether it wishes to commission an independent external review of the FIFA system for managing major strategic initiatives and make recommendations for its possible improvement,” Infantino wrote.

The FIFA president expressed his willingness to consult with confederations, national associations and other stakeholders on the organisation’s decision-making mechanisms. It is expected that during the consultations, they will consider who exactly is involved in the implementation of major initiatives and discuss ways to increase the transparency of this process.

Infantino said he had heard differing views on how FIFA should make decisions on important strategic issues. Someone insisted on discussing such issues in Congress and national associations, someone advocated unanimity within the organization. “My task is not to prejudge the outcome of this debate. Supporters of this or that model should be able to clearly state their arguments, he wrote. Proposals submitted before the FIFA Council meeting on October 15 will be reviewed. The materials sent later will be studied in additional terms.

In July, Gianni Infantino faced criticism over plans to create a new structure - FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) - to manage the commercial rights to the World Cups. The role of one of the key investors was intended for Thrive Eternal, which is headed by Joshua Kushner - the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. After criticism from several football associations, the FIFA president dropped the plans. In the letter, Infantino noted that no decisions were made to create an additional structure.