FIFPro: FIFA supports Infantino after the meeting; the framework must be reformed.

On the evening of August 6th, Beijing time, the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) officially released a statement responding to FIFA's earlier statement that it continues to support Gianni Infantino. Related link: [FIFA: Supports President Infantino, Will No Longer Tolerate Any Attacks that Undermine Due Process]

FIFPro Official Announcement:

FIFA’s Fast Forward program (FFE) is no longer in existence, but the abuses of power that led to it remain. The urgent task is to reform governance, not to cover up the truth. Withdrawing the FFE program is inevitable, but withdrawing the proposal will not erase the problems it revealed.

A plan that could permanently alter the ownership and management of the World Cup and commercialize the tournament built by generations of players was conceived in secret, negotiated behind closed doors, and was close to being agreed upon before the FIFA Council, member associations, players, and recognized stakeholders in the football world even knew of its existence. This is not only a failure of governance, but also a serious abuse of the power of the FIFA president.

Rabat's statement merely confirmed the issue.

We note with deep concern the internal report released by FIFA following the Rabat meeting in Morocco, which, instead of acknowledging what has happened, reiterated support for FIFA leadership and downplayed fundamental governance and charter deficiencies by attributing them to “processes and communications” issues that need “improvement.”

The most telling point is FIFA's insistence that, despite acknowledging "errors," all actions were "fully compliant with FIFA's rules and regulations." If true, this is not an excuse, but an indictment of FIFA's current governance framework. A framework that allows such a large-scale project to be conducted behind closed doors, concealed from those affected, and ultimately leaked, must be reformed, not defended.

We also note FIFA's warning that it "will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity." We must be clear: scrutiny of football governing bodies is not an attack, but rather the responsibility of all those who support the sport.

Any attempt to portray legitimate, well-intentioned scrutiny as disloyalty only exacerbates the concerns raised by this incident. Internal reviews that only report to the bypassed council cannot solve the problem; players, their representatives, and stakeholders in professional football must all be involved.

No institution can rebuild public trust in a chairman who has destroyed the very conditions upon which trust is based. Trust cannot be forced, authority cannot be easily established, and legitimacy cannot be easily declared. All three must be earned, and all can be lost.

FIFPro Requirements

The memorandum of understanding signed a few weeks ago marked a real step forward, but the FFE incident shows that it alone is not enough to protect players or competitions from the abuse of unilateral power.

Regardless of how the current crisis is resolved, the football community now needs to establish structural safeguards to ensure such incidents do not recur. The International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) believes these measures must include at least:

• Integrate global social dialogue platforms into a genuine, permanent, and structural component of FIFA governance, rather than a mechanism that can be circumvented at will.

• Engage in legally binding consultations with stakeholders in professional football on major decisions, including international match schedules, tournament expansion, and other matters that fundamentally affect professional football.

• Grant professional football stakeholders voting rights in the FIFA Council and explicitly and formally recognize the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) as the global representative of professional football players.

• Governance and structural reforms have made it impossible for any individual to make unilateral decisions through the game.

Next step

FIFPro sent a letter to FIFA's management today, making the above demands. The letter clarified that this incident is far from an isolated management failure, but rather concerns the operation of the world's highest leadership body and the way it exercises its power.

The letter was jointly signed by the FIFPro President and the presidents of the regional chapters of FIFP ro , including: FIFP ro Africa Chapter, FIFP ro Asia/Oceania Chapter, FIFP ro Europe Chapter, FIFP ro South America Chapter, and FIFP ro North and Central America Chapter.

Withdrawing the FFE prevented an irreversible decision, but it did not restore the confidence that initially led to the proposal. Now, that confidence has been fundamentally eroded, and no amount of well-written statements, internal reviews, or promises of process improvements can rebuild it.

Simply declaring governance and structural reforms that should have always existed cannot restore this confidence. These reforms are now imperative, but they are a responsibility for the future, not a pardon for the past.

The players are not the ones who started this crisis, and they will insist that football must emerge from it by building stronger systems, better safeguards, and leadership worthy of the trust the sport demands.