According to an exclusive report by The Times on August 5th, Beijing time, Gianni Infantino has pledged to award Morocco the right to host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support.
As pressure to resign mounts, the FIFA president is attempting to persuade member countries to issue statements of support.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, facing a difficult situation, promised Morocco that he would allow them to host the 2030 World Cup final if they supported him—but according to insiders, he is worried that Saudi Arabia has not yet expressed its support.
Since the crisis triggered by his plan to sell his World Cup shares to private investors, Gianni Infantino has been hiding in Rabat, the capital of Morocco.
He has been trying to persuade countries to issue statements of support, but Saudi Arabia—one of his staunchest supporters for years and designated as the host of the 2034 World Cup—has remained remarkably silent.
FIFA opened a luxurious new African office in Rabat last year, and earlier today, under immense pressure to resign, Gianni Infantino convened an emergency meeting there with his core staff in an attempt to salvage his presidency.
Since Gianni Infantino's election a decade ago, Morocco has been one of his most loyal supporters, and in return, Infantino awarded the North African nation the co-hosting rights for the 2030 World Cup. However, Morocco has also been vying to host the World Cup final at the newly built Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca. This 115,000-seat stadium will become the world's largest football stadium upon completion.
Sources have told The Times that Infantino has promised the final will indeed be held there, not at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid – the event is co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three other matches taking place in South America.
Opponents of Gianni Infantino argue that any decisions he makes regarding the final are not binding and that his successor could change them. FIFA did not respond when asked about this.
FIFA opened a luxurious new African office in Rabat last year.
This year, Spanish Football Federation President Rafael Luzan insisted that Spain "will be the frontrunner for the 2030 World Cup, and the final of that World Cup will be held here."
Infantino also chose Rabat as the venue for next year's FIFA Congress, hoping to secure a fourth term as president there. However, he will at least face challenges there, with leaders from UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFC demanding his immediate resignation.
Meanwhile, those aides who remain loyal to Infantino have been trying to persuade the "FIFA legends" (a group of retired national team players hired to attend FIFA events) to publicly endorse the FIFA president, but so far they have not succeeded.
Another source told The Times: " They would love for a prominent former player to stand up for Infantino, but he seems to have a bad reputation after the World Cup sale plan."
Once completed, the Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, could potentially host the World Cup final.
The FIFA crisis has sparked widespread concern among smaller European clubs who are worried about whether they will receive a share of the $250 million (approximately £185 million) solidarity fund they received from the new Club World Cup more than a year ago.
More than 50 clubs have contacted the European Football Clubs (EFC, the representative organization of European teams) to express their concerns about FIFA's commitment to funding that has yet to materialize.
FIFA told The Times that the $250 million grant remains in effect, and negotiations are ongoing regarding its allocation. This funding was committed to smaller professional clubs around the world as a reward for the Club World Cup held in the United States. The share allocated to these smaller clubs could be particularly significant.
It is understood that FIFA has not yet provided any explanation to Everton Football Club (EFC) regarding the postponement of the tournament. Some sources believe the postponement is due to the financial unsuccessfulness of the new club competition. It is understood that participating teams, including Chelsea and Manchester City, have already paid their participation fees.
Despite FIFA possessing massive cash reserves of up to $4 billion (approximately £2.9 billion), its failure to promptly disburse promised payments has become a common practice. The Jordanian Football Federation has revealed that it has yet to receive the payments due for last year's Arab Cup.
Its president, Prince Ali bin Hussein, said: "Our team has not yet received the prize money it should have received for reaching the final, while at the same time, FIFA is boasting about how many billions of dollars in reserves they have."
