FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafström apologized for mistakes in the handling of a proposal to create FIFA Forward Enterprise.
The proposed entity was intended to enable private investment connected to FIFA competitions.
In a signed message, Infantino and Grafström said FIFA’s Council and member associations should not have been left feeling excluded from the process.
They also acknowledged errors in the response after the plan became public and pledged that such events would not recur.
FIFA said the proposal had been withdrawn before an emergency meeting held at its office in Morocco.
After the meeting, Grafström and the attending FIFA leadership members reaffirmed their full support for Infantino.
Their statement described Infantino as the only FIFA official elected by votes from all 211 member associations.
FIFA said it did not intend to exclude the Council or its members and that the matter should have been handled differently.
Grafström had earlier described the episode as unfortunate and condemnable in an internal message to staff.
UEFA and Concacaf issued critical statements on the proposal, while the Asian Football Confederation backed their position.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had no confidence in Infantino, and former Portugal international Luís Figo called for his resignation.
FIFA said the actions taken had remained within its existing rules and that the meeting’s decisions would strengthen governance and restore confidence.
FIFA also said it would defend its reputation and governance standards against further attacks.
FIFA’s presidential election is scheduled for March 2027, and prospective candidates have until 18 November to submit their names.