FIFA President Gianni Infantino has issued an apology regarding the controversial proposal to sell shares in the World Cup enterprise but affirmed his commitment to continue leading the organisation. The global football governing body acknowledged errors in managing the scheme, which aimed to involve private investors in the World Cup, and pledged to prevent similar mistakes in the future.

In a letter co-signed by Infantino and FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström, senior officials expressed regret for the missteps, stating they would conduct an internal review and report the findings to the FIFA Council at its next meeting. The letter acknowledged that FIFA’s 211 member associations and the FIFA Council would have needed to approve the proposal, and that they should not have felt excluded from the process. Officials conceded the plan “should have been handled differently” and recognised additional errors occurred once details of the proposal became public.

Despite the apology, FIFA criticised the leak of confidential information relating to the plan. The organisation declared that, with the project now withdrawn, it would no longer tolerate attacks on FIFA’s integrity, governance, and due process, and vowed to take all necessary actions to protect its reputation.

FIFA also maintained that all activities related to the proposal complied fully with the organisation’s regulatory framework. Following a recent meeting in Rabat, Morocco, FIFA Council members unanimously endorsed Infantino’s leadership amid the controversy.