Gianni Infantino says he's 'open' to talks about FIFA reform in letter to football chiefs

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has written to football chiefs across the globe saying he is open to talks about reforming the organisation, while affirming his commitment to remain in post.

Mr Infantino was widely criticised over his proposal to sell a 20% stake in FIFA's commercial rights, including the World Cup, ​to private investors.

The FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was abandoned in July after opposition and boycott threats.

UEFA, ⁠the Asian Football Confederation, and CONCACAF - which represents countries in North and Central America and the Caribbean - called for changes ⁠to FIFA's leadership.

In a letter seen by Sky News, Mr Infantino wrote to the heads of all its 211 member nations and his FIFA Council, saying he ​will ask the council whether it wants to launch an "independent external review of FIFA's current governance framework for major strategic initiatives and recommend potential improvements".

In the note, sent on Monday, he also said ‌he would offer to hold talks with confederations, member associations and other stakeholders on strengthening FIFA's decision-making.

Mr Infantino's full letter is below.

The proposals would examine who has a say in major initiatives, ​including the respective roles of the president, bureau, council and congress, and how to improve transparency and accountability.

Promising not to pre-judge discussions, he said proposals could be discussed when the council meets next month.

His responsibility, he said, is to serve "all 211 member associations fairly, regardless of their position on any individual matter," adding that "strong institutions do not wait for their systems to fail before considering how they can be improved".

But there was no mention of reviewing his position. Instead, the letter affirmed his intention to remain FIFA president, arguing his responsibilities are "larger than any individual proposal or disagreement".

"I remain fully committed to leading FIFA and confident in what we can achieve together," he confirmed.

Referring to the sell-off idea, the president said it became public knowledge before it had been approved internally, admitting that "without the full context, this caused concern and created the impression that decisions had already been taken. They had not."

He added: "FIFA's democratic processes, independence and sporting authority were never for sale."

Read more on Sky News:
FA wants sell-off plan files released
Kushner's brother on World Cup sell-off
Call for summit to shape post-Infantino FIFA

Mr Infantino, 56, will stand for election for a fourth time in March, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate.

His support has drained across Europe, but he can still count on other parts of the world to back him, notably Africa, Asia and South America.

UEFA, the governing body of European football, accused the FIFA president of trying to "fraudulently" sell off the tournaments in legal documents filed in the US last month.

FIFA accused UEFA of a "smear campaign against it and its leadership" in a challenge to the litigation.

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