BOMBSHELL documents exposed Gianni Infantino plotted to partner with the breakaway European Super League.
And it was even proposed to name it the ‘Fifa Super League’.
News broke in April 2021 of the 20-team league proposed to shake up club football.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham all signed up to the closed-shop division.
It would have created a new rival competition featuring 15 permanent members – also including co-founders Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus – and five qualifying teams.
But intense, furious backlash to the plans from excluded teams, football governing bodies and fans across the world saw the Super League collapse and scrapped.
At the time, Fifa president Infantino told Uefa’s congress that his organisation condemned the proposed new league.
He said: “At Fifa, we can only strongly disapprove the creation of a Super League which is a closed shop, which is a breakaway from the current institutions, from the leagues, from the associations, from Uefa and from Fifa, which is outside of the system.
“There is no doubt whatsoever of Fifa’s disapproval for this.”
However, according to The Guardian, shocking files now allege he was very much part of the breakaway rebellion.
The report claims a term sheet – usually a precurser to a ratified and definitive contract – dated in October 2020 suggests naming the new league with Fifa’s branding.
The Guardian also suggests Fifa were willing to sideline its member associations in pushing plans to alter international windows and bypassed federations over Club World Cup proposals.
The Club World Cup would have been staged annually and directly connected to the new Super League.
And the damning documents, according to The Guardian, suggest Fifa are referred to as ‘WO1’ – a term used for high-ranking officers in the British army.
The report explains the term sheet said the Super League “is open to discuss naming the competition WO1 SL”.
It also stated Fifa would be “granted a preferred equity stake in the Super League”, thus ensuring the power to make decisions on format and calendar changes plus the appointment of a chief executive and distribution of funds.
When approached by SunSport for comment, Fifa sent links to articles posted in 2021 including Infantino’s comments to the Uefa congress and a signed statement from the Fifa boss plus the presidents of the six continental confederations refusing to recognise any unafiliated, rival competitions.
The outlandish expose comes a week after Infantino’s plans to auction off stakes in the World Cup were made public.
The angry reaction from confederations, national FAs and even many within Fifa prompted a swift and embarrassing U-turn for the Swiss chief, who is now desperately clinging on to power after a humiliating week.
He is holed up in Rabat, Morocco, where he staged an emergency crisis meeting with Fifa big-wigs.
Infantino apologised but vowed to fight on as the head of world football.
Further reports – denied by Fifa – suggest Infantino has offered Morocco the World Cup final in 2030 in return for public backing, as he still awaits support from 2034 hosts Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Portugal legend Luis Figo tweeted on Wednesday: “Today I join others from across our game and call for Gianni Infantino to resign as Fifa President.
“Infantino has debased the office that he promised to elevate.
“He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.
“He has lost the support of his senior staff, his closest advisers, the vast majority of people who devote their lives to this sport and even, it would seem, the Fifa Peace Prize winner.
“It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now. #Infantinout”
That came 24 hours after the Jordan FA boss Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein accused Infantino and Fifa of “blackmail”.
Prince Ali wrote: “There is no shortage of issues regarding Fifa.
“We have been waiting for reward money for our players since December for the Arab Cup in Qatar, which is a Fifa event.
“The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet, while at the same time Fifa brags about how many billions they have in reserve.
“It is clear the problem really is with leadership.
“For months, Fifa has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters – until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out.
“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values.
“We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now.
“But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”