Talk about a crisis of your own doing. Last week, FIFA announced it was launching a company to sell part of its commercial rights to private investors. The initiative was reportedly the work of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The uproar against it was so intense that calls are now coming in for his immediate resignation.

On July 28 the global governing body of football, aka soccer, said it would spin off the commercial rights to its competitions, including the World Cup, to a separate company, FIFA Forward Enterprise. The proposal required approval by the member associations.

The opposition was immediate and centered on the lack of consultation and transparency. Criticism came from leagues, clubs, players, fans and heads of state. UEFA, the European governing body, has been particularly caustic. “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially,” it wrote the day of the announcement. On July 30, it declared that “UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions.” Ouch!

‘One Person’

Blowback even came from within FIFA. Its COO, Kevin Lamour, released a statement to the Associated Press saying Infantino had “deceived” the staff with his lack of openness about the sell-off plan. “It is the project of one person,” he wrote.

At first, on July 31, FIFA issued a statement with “clarifications” about the proposal due to “incorrect media reports.” But the protests were so fierce that the same day it issued a “Statement Attributable to the FIFA President” withdrawing the proposal. “Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” Infantino said.

This should be a cautionary tale for crisis communicators. Projects that don’t have buy-in, including internal buy-in, can lead to disaster. Part of crisis planning is crisis prevention, which can be accomplished through consensus building. Infantino (pictured) seems to be his own worst enemy here. “Infantino has always run FIFA with little regard for differing views inside the building,” The Wall Street Journal wrote Aug. 1. “The past week, however, has proven to be the most damaging of his tenure.”

Infantino, a Swiss national who has been FIFA president since 2016, will have to work to rebuild his reputation and trust. The signs are not good. He’s losing support.

Withdrawn Support

On Aug. 1, former U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Codeiro resigned as his senior advisor. The leader of the Spanish association, Javier Tebas, said the president “must not continue at the helm of FIFA.” On Aug. 3, the Welsh association became the first to officially withdraw its support for Infantino’s reelection in 2027, according to Sky News.

Over the weekend, even new British Prime Minister and football fan Andy Burnham said of Infantino, “I do not believe that he is the right man to lead football forward on the world stage.”

Infantino may have been hit hard enough that he sees the error of his ways. Yesterday he held a crisis meeting with FIFA officials in Morocco during which he acknowledged the mistakes made. After the meeting, the organization issued a statement that said the officials in attendance “reaffirmed their full support for” him.

We shall see.

Photo Credit: FIFA

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