Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that he does not have confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the handling of his proposal to sell off commercial rights to the soccer World Cup.
Infantino was holding a crisis meeting with top FIFA officials in Morocco on Wednesday after the collapse of the proposal triggered fresh criticism ahead of his bid for a fourth term at next year's FIFA Congress in March.
Some of Infantino's FIFA colleagues have joined in the furore, with Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom calling the saga a "sad and reproachable series of events," while senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned last week.
"The idea that proper governance is not to disclose to your closest advisers, your chief operating officer, your fellow board members something of consequence ... that's fatal, should be fatal, and you lose confidence in that individual," Carney told reporters in Toronto.
"Certainly, I don't have confidence in Mr. Infantino after this point, given what transpired, and given the nature of what transpired."
Canada served as a co-host for the World Cup that concluded last month, drawing in robust crowds for matches in Toronto and Vancouver, along with the U.S. and Mexico.
North American football chief and Canadian businessman Victor Montagliani has emerged as a possible candidate to replace Infantino.
"(Montagliani is a) credit to Canada, credit to football. Done a very good job in his role at CONCACAF," said Carney. "He's someone I know well and have tremendous respect for."
In recent days multiple US cities that hosted World Cup matches have sought millions of dollars they believe FIFA, world football's governing body, promised them, The Athletic reported.
Four executives from World Cup cities, speaking anonymously, told the outlet on Tuesday that FIFA management told them they would each receive $1 million in "legacy" funds to build football-related infrastructure and support "social projects".
The Athletic reported that officials from the cities had requested the payments after Gianni Infantino, head of global football's governing body, announced such payments to host cities of the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States.
The report is the latest setback for Infantino, who is under fire from European confederation UEFA and some of its counterparts.
