Gianni Infantino has called an emergency summit with FIFA’s most senior figures as the governing body’s escalating civil war shows no sign of easing following the collapse of his controversial investment proposal.The FIFA president has spent the past week in Morocco, where he has now summoned key executives to Rabat for crisis talks on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to restore unity after his ambitious plan to privatise the organisation’s commercial and event operations spectacularly unravelled.The failed proposal, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, triggered fierce opposition from within football’s governing body before ultimately being abandoned.But while the plan itself has been shelved, the political fallout continues to intensify.Secretary general Mattias Grafstrom will attend the meeting alongside members of FIFA’s senior management team, including finance chief Thomas Peyer, legal director Emilio Garcia Silvero, chief of staff Daniel O’Toole, member associations chief Elkhan Mammadov and media relations director Bryan Swanson.Infantino now finds himself under mounting pressure after a string of influential figures publicly distanced themselves from the proposal.Among the most notable critics is Arsene Wenger, whose intervention represented one of the strongest rebukes yet from inside FIFA.Gianni Infantino has called an emergency summit with FIFA’s most senior figures as the governing body’s escalating civil war shows no sign of easing following the collapse of his controversial investment proposal | REUTERSThe former Arsenal manager, who has served as FIFA’s chief of global football development since 2019, insisted the proposal should never have progressed.”The recent events at FIFA deserve some clarity from my side,” Wenger said. “I was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports.”The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity.”Arsene Wenger has a close relationship with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino | PAWenger’s comments are particularly significant given he previously backed Infantino’s controversial push to stage the men’s World Cup every two years.He is also among 18 FIFA officials named in UEFA’s document preservation letter threatening legal action over the affair.The criticism has not stopped there, either.Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, president of the Jordan Football Association, accused FIFA of creating a situation that “amounts to blackmail” over unpaid prize money and backing for Infantino’s re-election campaign.Meanwhile, one of Infantino’s closest allies also appeared to distance himself from the controversy.Grafstrom, who has worked alongside the FIFA president since 2016 and became secretary general in 2024, described recent events in an internal message to staff as “a sad and reproachable series of events”.Gianni Infantino is currently one of the biggest villains within the world of football | REUTERSHe acknowledged employees had been caught in “turmoil” before urging them to remain focused on FIFA’s wider mission.”I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us: serving football and serving our 211 member associations,” he wrote.”I assure you that you as members of the administration, you will be defended and safeguarded from the political context we currently experience.”The crisis has already claimed one senior casualty, with Infantino’s adviser on global strategy and governance, Carlos Cordeiro, resigning after branding the proposal “a bad deal for football” that would have “mortgaged football’s future”.Wednesday’s emergency meeting is now expected to be pivotal as Infantino attempts to repair relationships with senior colleagues and prevent the biggest internal crisis of his presidency from spiralling even further.Whether he’s successful in doing that remains to be seen.