Saudi soccer body says it supports FIFA president Gianni Infantino ‘at this time’

MONACO (AP) — One month into a crisis for FIFA provoked by his failed World Cup sell-off plan, Gianni Infantino finally got some public backing from a key nation Thursday — 2034 World Cup host Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) posted a statement on social media saying that “at this time” it supports Infantino’s efforts to restore global unity in soccer.

Infantino has built close soccer and political ties to Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his 10-year presidency, and helped steer the 2034 World Cup toward the kingdom. They both attended a Saudi-backed video gaming event in Paris on Sunday.

Still, Saudi soccer was notably quiet in the past month as the Asian Football Confederation joined Europe’s UEFA and North America’s CONCACAF in criticizing Infantino for “deception” and “breach of trust” by secretly negotiating with private investors to sell a 20% stake in a planned FIFA commercial subsidiary.

“At this time, SAFF supports the continued efforts of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA’s leadership to restore unity across the football family and continue growing the game for the benefit of all,” the federation said.

It also urged FIFA leaders to hold “direct face-to-face dialogue … with all concerns addressed openly.”

Infantino has not called a meeting of his 37-member FIFA Council, which includes Saudi official Yasser Al Misehal, and instead met with most of his FIFA management team in Rabat, Morocco, three weeks ago. A FIFA statement then admitted errors while endorsing the president’s position.

SAFF said it “welcomes the acknowledgement of mistakes, the apology, the decision not to proceed” with the $20 billion project.

“These were important first steps,” the Saudi federation said about the FIFA climb-down this month. “However, the continuing divisions within the game demonstrates the need for broader and more direct dialogue.”

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here