Aug 27 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2034 men's World Cup, threw their its support behind FIFA chief Gianni Infantino on Thursday as he continues to face criticism over the collapse of the governing body's controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
In a statement, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) welcomed FIFA's acknowledgement of mistakes, its apology and the decision to scrap the proposal, while calling for direct dialogue among football's stakeholders to restore unity.
"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 in a statement on its website.
Infantino has come under pressure since FIFA abandoned plans to sell a minority stake in future World Cup revenues through a new commercial vehicle, FIFA Forward Enterprise, after opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
