FIFA president Gianni Infantino insists he retains the backing of the "vast, vast majority" of world football, laughing off questions about resigning over the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. In a rare interview with BBC Sport, he struck a defiant tone, saying disagreement is healthy but organisations must move on. Two months ago, he faced mounting calls to step down after Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf signed a letter accusing him of breaking trust "through deception".
Last week Uefa demanded that FIFA release all key FFE documents by 2 November, with general secretary Theodore Theodoridis saying the organisation had failed to address "a number of fundamental questions". Under FFE, a portion of commercial rights of FIFA-run competitions would have been sold to a private investment firm. Infantino scrapped the proposal within days and has since travelled to Morocco, the Dominican Republic, Cape Verde and Japan to shore up support.
He has also proposed increasing football development funding by $3.4bn (£2.6bn). He was "fully endorsed" by the Asian Football Confederation following a U-turn by its president Sheikh Salman, and claims backing from "all African countries". Yet he recently apologised to the FIFA Council over "communication and consultation" regarding FFE and was told he was not "fit to be FIFA president" unless he handed over requested documents.
When pressed, he cited a "legal process" and said they were "working on it". Speaking from the first Under-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan, he acknowledged doing "some things which are maybe less good" and called for more dialogue with Uefa to repair their strained relationship. Asked if he was fit to be president, he laughed and said he was elected by 211 member associations, adding that football belongs to everyone and the views of the vast majority must be respected.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing