Infantino abandons FIFA Forward Enterprise plan after opposition, leaving CAF under pressure

Gianni Infantino has withdrawn his FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal after unprecedented opposition to plans that would have opened part of FIFA’s commercial activities to private investors.

The decision has been welcomed by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), which said preserving unity across world football had to take priority over a project that had created deep divisions. The Confederation of African Football (CAF), however, has yet to issue a public response after agreeing to examine the proposal.

In a statement, the FRMF praised the FIFA president for abandoning the plan. The Moroccan federation made clear that it did not oppose increasing the resources available for football development, but argued that the cohesion of the global game should come first.

Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the FRMF, described Infantino’s decision as “wise”, saying it would help promote “unity and cohesion among FIFA member associations through a participatory approach”.

Lekjaa nevertheless repeated his support for Infantino and for future initiatives aimed at developing football worldwide.

The response from CAF has been far less clear. Several other confederations had quickly voiced opposition to the proposal, or expressed serious reservations about it. CAF, by contrast, said it would study FIFA Forward Enterprise at a meeting of its Executive Committee.

That position may have reflected the substantial financial needs facing many African football federations. It also created the impression that CAF was prepared to consider a reform whose lack of transparency, and potential impact on FIFA’s autonomy, had raised significant concerns.

Infantino’s withdrawal before CAF had even examined the proposal has now left Patrice Motsepe and the African governing body in an uncomfortable position.

At the time of writing, CAF had not published a statement accompanying the abandonment of FIFA Forward Enterprise. The absence of a response has intensified the perception that the organisation reacted to events rather than shaping them.

The FRMF, by contrast, adopted a clearly stated position while also maintaining its support for Infantino. CAF’s silence has left questions over whether it is reluctant to account for its own approach to the proposal.

The withdrawal allows FIFA to avoid an even deeper crisis. The plan had faced opposition on a scale described as unprecedented, with concerns extending beyond its commercial implications to the governance and independence of football’s global governing body.

For CAF, however, the episode represents another difficult moment and is likely to fuel further questions about its governance. The organisation had been willing to place the proposal before its Executive Committee, while other confederations had already made their reservations known.

Although the financial challenges confronting many African federations may have helped explain CAF’s decision to keep the project under consideration, the plan’s sudden removal means the confederation will no longer have the opportunity to assess it formally. Instead, it must now respond to criticism over its silence after Infantino’s announcement.

The contrasting reactions have highlighted the different positions taken by the Moroccan federation and CAF. Morocco has publicly welcomed the withdrawal and defended the importance of unity, while CAF has so far offered no official explanation for its earlier stance or its response to the project’s abandonment.