Mattias Grafstrom, FIFA’s Swedish secretary general, has resigned after criticising president Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell shares in the World Cup, placing further pressure on the organisation’s leadership.
The New York Times sports section, among other outlets, obtained an internal letter sent by Grafstrom to FIFA staff. In it, the secretary general said he had not been informed about the proposal and condemned what he described as a series of serious and regrettable developments.
Grafstrom wrote that those events had, fortunately, ended with the definitive abandonment of the FIFA Forward Enterprise project. The proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup had become a source of growing controversy, with criticism now coming from inside FIFA as well as from external football authorities.
“The past week has been extraordinary and challenging for all FIFA employees,” Grafstrom wrote in the internal note.
“That is why I wanted to inform you first. We are all caught up in a chaos that is difficult to understand and accept. I assure you that, as administrators, you will be protected and kept safe in the current political context. You have no reason to worry.”
The letter was issued as FIFA attempted to manage the fallout from the abandoned project and the concerns raised by senior figures within the organisation.
“The individuals, the periods of instability and the unfortunate events come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football remain, and that is why we must always maintain our professionalism, our sense of reality and our composure,” Grafstrom added.
Grafstrom’s departure follows criticism from Kevin Lamour, FIFA’s deputy director general, who had already voiced opposition to Infantino’s plans. The adviser Carlos Cordeiro has also announced his resignation in protest.
As a result, Infantino is facing increasingly strong criticism, including from within FIFA itself. UEFA, among other bodies, has already threatened to begin legal proceedings.
The collapse of FIFA Forward Enterprise therefore represents more than the end of a disputed commercial project. It has exposed divisions among senior officials and intensified scrutiny of Infantino’s approach to the governance and financing of world football.
Grafstrom’s internal message sought to reassure FIFA employees while acknowledging the turmoil at the organisation. He said staff should remain calm and professional despite the political uncertainty surrounding the institution.
His resignation leaves Infantino under renewed pressure at a time when opposition to the project has spread beyond individual officials. The intervention by UEFA, together with the departures and criticism of senior FIFA figures, means the dispute is now developing on both legal and internal fronts.
The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal has been definitively stopped, but the disagreement surrounding it continues to affect the organisation’s leadership.
