FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called an emergency meeting with senior officials in Morocco as his position comes under increasing pressure. The move follows widespread criticism over a proposal to sell World Cup stakes worth £3.1 billion, which has since been abandoned after numerous football associations threatened to boycott the tournament.
Resignation calls grow
Jordan's FA president, Ali bin Hussein, has accused Infantino of blackmail, becoming the first Asian nation to demand his resignation. This brings the total number of countries calling for Infantino to stand down to 91, with 106 needed to force his removal. UEFA and CONCACAF have also demanded his resignation.
Hussein detailed grievances including visa issues for Jordanian fans, taxes imposed by the US government, and unpaid reward money from the Arab Cup in Qatar. He stated: "It is clear the problem really is with leadership. For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters - until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out."
Internal dissent
The meeting is expected to take place on Wednesday as FIFA faces internal difficulties. Last week, senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro stepped down, calling the plan a "bad deal for football". Arsene Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, said the withdrawal was "absolutely necessary and beyond question". Secretary general Mattias Grafstrom described the events as a "sad and reproachable series of events...which thankfully concluded with the project being permanently abandoned".
