Questions of Power and Process After Harassment Claim at FIFA

The head of the star-studded FIFA Legends program was found to have sexually harassed a subordinate in 2019. The victim still isn’t sure he was ever punished.

Miguel Macedo had shown his value to soccer’s top leader for months. Now, on the morning of Gianni Infantino’s first day as FIFA president, Macedo would demonstrate his connections, and his usefulness, once again.

Minutes after Infantino set foot inside FIFA’s glass-and-steel headquarters on the first day of his presidency in February 2016, he was met by a collection of former stars: World Cup winners, national team legends, Champions League heroes. All of them had been invited by Macedo to play alongside the new president in a small tournament on one of the manicured fields outside. Infantino, wearing an armband, would join them on the field as their captain.

And so a motif of Infantino’s presidency was set. The FIFA Legends, as the program of former players turned FIFA representatives came to be known, was born that day. Its importance has only grown in the years since, serving as ballast for Infantino’s image as he works to reshape world soccer, restore FIFA’s influence and refill its bank accounts.