Infantino's African HQ in Salé: A Fortress Under Siege

FIFA's New Address

FIFA's African headquarters has been perched above the Moroccan city of Salé since last July. The building sits inside Technopolis, a business park that is one of many megaprojects reshaping the Atlantic coast. From this vantage point, Gianni Infantino has planted the sport's governing body in a location with clear symbolic weight.

Salé sits directly across the river from Rabat. Forty years ago, this was a gritty working-class area. Its old town was weathered enough to double as Mogadishu in the film Black Hawk Down. Today the population has trebled, and the landscape tells the story of a country under firm authoritarian control.

Crisis Meeting in Rabat

On Wednesday night, FIFA held a crisis meeting of its senior executives in Rabat. The outcome was confirmed in a statement: Gianni Infantino will remain as president. FIFA also revealed that Infantino has sent written apologies to the FIFA council and all 211 member associations for failing to consult them over the World Cup sell-off. FIFA said he retains the full support of his leadership team.

The apology marks the first official acknowledgment from FIFA that the consultation process around the sell-off was inadequate. The president's decision to remain and the leadership team's backing signal that the governing body's inner circle views the fallout as contained, even as member associations absorb the written rebuke.