The controversial plan to let private investors run the World Cup has been scrapped, but the saga has exposed a FIFA president so detached from reality that he believed the scheme would win support. Gianni Infantino's proposal drew outrage from across football and was abandoned within days.
Power, it seems, had made Infantino delusional. A multi-linguist and highly qualified lawyer, he failed to read the room. The plan was widely attributed to Infantino himself, aided by investor acquaintances hoping to make hundreds of millions from the World Cup.
Lamour: FIFA's administration was deceived
The most damning condemnation came from FIFA's own chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour. He called the project "the project of one person" and spoke of "a lack of trust, a lack of transparency, a lack of discernment, a lack of good governance, and a serious lack of respect." Lamour also spoke of "contempt" and "intimidation", adding that "FIFA's own administration was deceived."
"Our mission is to serve football," Lamour said. "Not to serve the personal interests of a person who, unfortunately, believes he embodies FIFA when he is supposed to be at its service."
UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin dealt the killer blow to the scheme. In a late-night statement announcing its termination, Infantino showed no contrition. Instead, he said the plan "was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed." Yet by all appearances, he consulted no one within FIFA when hatching the plan.
Infantino remains unopposed for re-election
The next FIFA presidential election is due in March at a congress in Morocco. As it stands, Infantino will be unopposed. The nomination deadline falls in November, and other candidates are urged to come forward. But given the overwhelming loss of confidence, the election should happen sooner – because Infantino should resign.
All the national associations that united against the FIFA Forward Enterprise project should now declare their complete lack of confidence in the organisation's leader. His time is well and truly up. But power has made him so delusional that he probably does not know it.
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