FIFA president Gianni Infantino has issued an apology for the "mistakes made" surrounding the controversial proposal to sell the World Cup.
Infantino has put his name to a letter, alongside FIFA's Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom, marking his first public apology since unveiling and subsequently withdrawing the widely criticised World Cup investment scheme.
The Swiss official's proposal was rejected by three continental confederations before being pulled, and prompted UEFA to threaten a boycott of FIFA competitions until it was abandoned.
Apology and Review
The letter acknowledges "We acknowledge that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media."
"We sincerely apologise for these errors and commit to them not happening again," it states.
"With this in mind, we will conduct a necessary review, and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting."
Support and Controversy
Despite calls for Infantino to resign as FIFA president, the letter continues by stating that Grafstrom and FIFA's Management Board "reaffirm their full support" for the chief.
The letter has been made public following a meeting with FIFA board members in Morocco on Wednesday.
Mattias Grafstrom, the secretary general mentioned in the statement, is believed to have sent an email to staff on Tuesday describing Infantino's proposal to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to oversee FIFA competitions and sell a 20 per cent stake to private investors as "sad and reproachable".
Wednesday night's statement painted a more unified picture in the wake of the Rabat summit, however.
Restoring Confidence
The document sets out that following the gathering, they hope to "help restore confidence in the organisation" and "continue to develop the game around the world".
It goes on to say that in the aftermath of the plan's withdrawal, the organisation will "no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity".
Infantino has been pictured smiling at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in the wake of the emergency board meeting.
The letter dismisses any suggestion of wrongdoing in connection with the plan, asserting that no rules were breached, thereby seeking to cement Infantino's position as president despite widespread calls for his resignation.
The emergency discussions were triggered as his presidency appeared increasingly precarious, with both UEFA and CONCACAF - the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean - calling on Infantino to stand down.
For the president to be removed from his post, 106 nations would need to back the motion.
