FIFA President Gianni Infantino will be the focus of a crisis meeting in Morocco as allegations of blackmail, unpaid host city funds, and a reported legal threat from UEFA engulf the football world.
Blackmail Allegations
Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, president of Jordan's FA, published a statement on X claiming funds had been withheld from his country after reaching the final of last year's Arab Cup. According to the former FIFA vice-president, Jordan was owed money for their runner-up finish in December.
"There is no shortage of issues regarding FIFA," he wrote. "Let me start by clarifying what some of these are from an FA perspective, in particular that of Jordan going into a World Cup for the first time."
He detailed hurdles including fans facing visa issues, taxes imposed through FIFA for participating in the USA, and unpaid reward money from the Arab Cup. Al Hussein said it was "verbally communicated to him during the World Cup" that if he publicly endorsed Infantino, it would "go a long way to help" Jordan's issues.
"We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values," he continued. "We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now. But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that."
UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister gave a similar assessment last week: "Effectively it's a form of blackmail financially to present the national associations with such a tight time period to consider such a significant seismic proposal."
Fresh Scandal
It has emerged that the 11 host cities in the United States are still waiting on millions in alleged owed payments from FIFA. These payments relate to the logistical costs of hosting World Cup fixtures over the summer.
Prior to the World Cup, Infantino publicly declared each host city would receive a £742,000 ($1million) 'legacy contribution' to build new football pitches and fund social initiatives. However, The Athletic reported representatives from the host city committees have since claimed that FIFA "repeatedly assured" they would receive another identical £742,000 payment to help with the expenses of hosting.
It's alleged the promises were made verbally by senior members of FIFA staff but remain unpaid. The United States hosted World Cup fixtures in Atlanta, Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City.
Two anonymous executives from host cities told The Athletic they didn't understand the delay in payments after FIFA bragged of producing more than £11.1billion in revenue between 2023 and 2026.
Wenger Quit Claims
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reportedly has no plans to step down from his role as FIFA's head of global football development. The Frenchman has held the role since 2019.
The Times reported Wenger was named in a UEFA letter sent to FIFA instructing executives to preserve documents and electronic communications relating to Infantino's failed World Cup proposal. The letter, addressed to Wenger and 13 other FIFA execs, informed that UEFA was considering legal action over the ordeal.
It read: "UEFA hereby gives formal notice that it is actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints arising out of and in connection with the FFE [FIFA Forward Enterprise] plan proposed by FIFA and all related matters."
"You and FIFA are required to take immediate steps to identify, locate and preserve all documents and electronically stored information described in this notice that are in your or FIFA's possession, custody, or control."
