In football, when players no longer believe in the manager’s vision, they are said to have ‘lost the dressing room’. 

He might not be on the touchline, but on the back of the recent world cup sell-off controversy, Gianni Infantino has certainly had a taste of what so many leaders in football have experienced.  

Importantly, though, ‘losing the dressing room’ is an issue that transcends sport, and FIFA's latest controversy bears important lessons for business leaders and communications professionals more generally. 

What began as initial pushback quickly snowballed into something much bigger. The plans were publicly criticized by senior officials, advisors resigned, global leaders were outraged, fans were up in arms, football federations rebelled, and ultimately pressure mounted on Infantino’s leadership.  

As the Associated Press reported, the fallout created a “seismic rift in global soccer”, noting that the backlash included boycott threats and accusations from senior FIFA figures that they had been misled.  

If you thought nothing could bring people together like football, you would be right, but in a World Cup year it’s unlikely anyone anticipated it would be quite like this... 

The proposal has now been scrapped, and apologies have now been issued – not least with Infantino looking to repair stakeholder sentiment ahead of an election campaign next year.  

On that note, it is important to note Infantino has successfully managed to retain at least indicative support among several key constituents – in Africa and South America for instance. FIFA, and Infantino, are also not laying down quietly despite the acknowledgement of errors. In a recent Instagram post the embattled president talked about not tolerating any attacks on FIFA’s integrity and taking all necessary measures to defend its reputation.   

However, the conversation has evolved far beyond the initial proposal. For communications professionals, important lessons can be learned from how quickly stakeholder concerns can escalate into a full-scale reputational crisis when key spokespeople forget there’s no ‘I’ in team.  

The perils of a spokesperson in chief

A strong voice and direct alignment between brand and spokesperson can be a tremendous asset. It naturally breeds familiarity, recognition, and consistency. However, blurred lines between individual and organization can also bring reputational risk.  

There are many examples of the ‘spokesperson in chief’ model – the Elon Musk approach – and while this can enable authenticity of voice to shine through and can build brand equity while the individual’s popularity rides high, it can also spiral out of control if individual ego overrides organizational objectives.  

Divisive figures garner attention – in the media, and particularly on social channels. For startups on the way up, this can be a valuable profile-raising tool. But for well-established organizations, dalliances with division invite additional scrutiny, and there can be a long way to fall.  

If left unchecked, the ego is fueled by the success of what elevated them to their position of authority, and the rules of good communications and strategy can sometimes be left behind. So it was with Infantino and his inner circle at FIFA.  

No stranger to controversy, some might suggest this smacks of the FIFA boss becoming complacent in his relatively friction-free march to change. Evolution has been surprisingly easy – after all, he had done the unthinkable in overhauling the format of one of the most revered and established sporting tournaments in the world. The number of participating nations was increased, a new route for group qualification and an additional knockout round followed, while international football (famously “a game of two halves”) was transformed into four quarters through the imposition of water breaks.  

Knowing your audience 

Among the first lessons taught in any communications classroom: know your audience. Respect them.  

A sound strategy is doomed to fail if the accompanying communications aren’t right. Understanding who you are communicating with can never be underestimated. With particularly emotive topics – and sport is just one example, where passion and fan fervor are the backbone of success, the tone, content and timing of communication is critically important. When sport is international, the added splash of patriotism ramps up the tribal attachment even further. Read the room and adjust your plans accordingly.  

The reaction to FIFA’s proposed World Cup sell-off illustrates the point. What may have been intended as commercial growth strategy was interpreted by some as a threat to something they deeply valued.  

As evolution turned to revolution, FIFA’s plans were clearly a case of too much, too soon, for many stakeholders. Whether or not there is sound commercial and development rationale matters not one jot if stakeholder trust and confidence is lost right out of the gate. Consultation and buy-in were bypassed. Commerciality seemingly came first and the man holding the reins appeared increasingly willing to push ahead despite growing concerns. It nearly cost him his job, and his re-election in March remains heavily in question. 

For business leaders, there are some clear lessons to take from this. It doesn’t matter whether you’re communicating with football fans, customers buying a product, or interviewing prospective talent.  

If the communications, and the communicator, fail to connect with the audience and demonstrate a genuine understanding of what matters to them, stakeholder capital is not only difficult to build, it is quickly put at risk.  

It’s important to remember that people judge decisions through their own values and emotional attachments. When stakeholders feel misunderstood or ignored, even the strongest businesses can face resistance. Understanding your audience and tailoring your message accordingly then isn’t just a communications exercise, it’s fundamental to winning and maintaining trust. 

Timing is everything 

When the story is delivered is just as important as the message itself. The World Cup sell-off proposal came to light in the immediate aftermath of a tournament that had already generated scrutiny around FIFA’s leadership, with media attention focusing on Infantino’s close relationship with the US administration. 

Even the right strategy can be introduced at the wrong moment. Timing can be just as critical in shaping how a message is received both internally and externally, and audiences rarely perceive announcements in isolation.  

In FIFA’s case, critics quickly built on an already existing wave of disquiet, which allowed the narrative to gather momentum quickly.  

For business leaders, this is a clear reminder that communications strategy shouldn’t just consider what is being said, but also when.  

The value of pausing to take a breath shouldn’t be underestimated when appropriate, allowing tensions to ease and time to reset. On the flip side, if you want a message to gain traction, carefully choosing the moment which will lead to the most momentum can be every bit as important as crafting the message itself.  

The most effective communicators understand that timing is often the difference between a story landing well and it spiraling out of control.  

Aligning on-field and off-field tactics 

Ironically, the communications lessons we are dissecting can be taken directly from the sport Infantino is tasked with championing and safeguarding. Teamwork, camaraderie, and taking strategy and tactics from training ground to game-time. 

Stakeholders cannot be expected to buy into a vision if they feel excluded from the conversation, nor can difficult decisions be defended if the rationale behind them is unclear.  

Just as a manager who loses the dressing room struggles to deliver results on the pitch, leaders who fail to secure alignment internally can find their external messaging undermined.  

Whatever goes on behind closed doors, on the training paddock or the boardroom, must stand up when executed on the field of play and in front of the audience.