Gianni Infantino: FIFA president apologises for World Cup sell-off plan - but FA and other European leaders still want him to resign

His expression of regret for not telling the council about his plans earlier was not good enough for European football leaders, including FA chair Debbie Hewitt, who still want him to resign.

UEFA wants Infantino to release all documents relating to the plan as they believe the 20 per cent stake in all future FIFA tournaments was being sold for a knockdown price.

It was expected council members would also quiz Infantino on a number of controversial issues at the meeting.

As well as the World Cup sell-off plan, Infantino faced scrutiny on the decision to suspend the one-match ban of USA striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, the FIFA Peace Prize and why it was given to USA President Donald Trump, and the reasons for an additional £1.3m fee he received in 2024 on top of his FIFA salary .

After this summer's World Cup, Infantino abandoned a controversial plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private equity investors after fierce opposition from football's governing bodies.

FIFA had announced it was seeking to launch FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would bring together the sale of FIFA's commercial rights - including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing - with the operational delivery of its tournaments.

Infantino had then given football associations until September 19 to back his proposals to sell off part of FIFA to private investors with a £30.1m incentive to accept.

But the controversial proposals received fierce criticism from UEFA, CONCACAF (the North American, Central American and Caribbean association) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Infantino 'not fit to be FIFA president' if he avoids questions

FA chair Hewitt has called on Infantino to answer questions about his World Cup private investor plan and the Folarin Balogun case.

She said Council members had not received answers to "anything we had specifically requested" regarding FFE or the Balogun incident, where the United States striker's one-match ban was suspended following a call to Infantino from US President Donald Trump.

Hewitt told reporters in Zurich: "The man has to answer those questions, and if he doesn't answer those questions, no, he's not fit to be FIFA president, and that was what was shared in the meeting.

"He's told us to submit those questions. There were so many of them, and now it's up to him to do that, and do that in the open way."

Saying sorry 'not enough for European football leaders'

Analysis by Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:

"It's not enough for European football leaders, because make no mistake, they have had enough of Gianni Infantino, they want him out.

"They just think this is the final scandal in a long list of scandals - and don't forget what Infantino was doing this summer behind the backs of the FIFA Council, who are effectively the FIFA Board.

"He was negotiating to sell a stake, not just in the World Cup, but all future FIFA tournaments forever more. A 20 per cent stake, he was going to set up a new company, and the company was valued at just $20bn (£15m) when the World Cup this summer made $15bn (£11bn).

"So, European football leaders are convinced he was trying to sell off the World Cup on the cheap. They have gone to the courts to try and force him to release all documents about this plan he had come up with. They are saying today [Thursday], including the chair of the FA, Debbie Hewitt, that basically sorry is not good enough, we need to see the documents, we want to see all the figures, you've got to be transparent, you've got to release all these documents.

"And I think the reason they are so desperate to get their hands on those documents is because they know it will be a massive scandal if they have the evidence to prove the FIFA president was selling off a stake in FIFA tournaments to people with close ties to President Trump for a knockdown price. That would be a big, big story."

Wenger and Figo among potential Infantino rivals for presidency

UEFA still want to put forward a candidate to challenge Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency.

Infantino is hoping to be re-elected for a fourth term next year, without facing a challenger for the third election a row.

UEFA want him to resign after he became embroiled in a long list of controversies and scandals, but Infantino believes he still has enough support from around the world to win again at the election in Morocco in March.

Arsene Wenger, Luis Figo and Michelle Kang have been mentioned as potential candidates but it remains to be seen whether any of them are prepared to challenge Infantino.

Anyone who wants to take on Infantino has until 18 November to declare their candidacy.

It may be in the best interests of challengers to declare their intention to stand as late as possible in order to give Infantino and his supporters less time to prepare for taking on a rival.

Former Arsenal manager Wenger is respected around the world but he has shown no interest so far in leading FIFA.

He has been happy working as FIFA's global football development chief since 2019, although he did release a statement in August criticising Infantino's plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup. He was appointed to his role by Infantino and has supported some of the FIFA president's most controversial projects, such as a biennial World Cup and an expanded Club World Cup.

Luis Figo has launched a scathing attack on Infantino in a newspaper column, calling for his resignation in the wake of the World Cup sell-off scandal. The former Real Madrid and Barcelona star has the profile to pose a challenge, but his role as a UEFA adviser since 2017 could make it harder to secure the votes he would need from football associations around the world to replace Infantino.

Lyon, London City Lionesses and Washington Spirit owner Kang has also been mentioned as a potential challenger but there have been no indications that she is preparing to take on Infantino.

The FIFA Council has 37 members made up of:

Eight vice presidents including UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and the presidents of the other five confederations. FA chair Debbie Hewitt is also a vice president

28 other members elected by the FIFA member associations