After three days of unprecedented civil war in the world of soccer administration last week, the 56-year-old Swiss-Italian Infantino backed away from his plan to raise $4.2 billion from a new commercial rights body late on Friday night.
Infantino apologised for how the proposal, which would have brought private investment into the World Cup for the first time, had divided the game, but his once unassailable bastion of power at the top of the global governing body was shattered.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom sent an internal message to staff lamenting the "sad and reproachable series of events" that led to the project being "permanently abandoned", two sources said.
"We have all been thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept," Grafstrom wrote in the letter without mentioning Infantino by name.
"But, as Secretary General, I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us: serving football and serving our 211 Member Associations, hand in hand with all relevant stakeholders and in full compliance with the FIFA Statutes and FIFA Regulations.
"Individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go. The institution, its mission and its responsibility towards world football continue, and that is why we should always keep our professionalism, sense of perspective and composure."
Arsene Wenger, the Chief of Global Football Development at FIFA and technical adviser to soccer's rule-making body IFAB, said he was not involved in the proposal and only learned about it through media reports.
"The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity," Wenger said in a statement.
Carlos Cordeiro, senior advisor to Infantino, resigned last week after "unequivocally" opposing the proposal.
Jordan FA president Ali bin Hussein accused FIFA of "blackmail", claiming it offered to help solve many of the kingdom's problems, including paying delayed prize money from last year's Arab Cup, in exchange for endorsing Infantino.
"We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him (Infantino) before and certainly will not now," Bin Hussein wrote on X.
"But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that."
Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment on the allegations.
Several federations have withdrawn support for Infantino and one media report suggested three regional confederations had united to try to force Infantino out of office.
But some federations have declared continued support for Infantino, who has run FIFA since 2016 and wants to stay on until 2031.
He has also attempted to boost his own image by amplifying their statements on Instagram, while FIFA dismissed as "pure fiction" a report that Infantino sought support from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to stay in power.
UEFA has confirmed that it has sent a "document preservation letter" to FIFA for all material related to Infantino's plan and is still mulling whether to start legal proceedings over it.
Infantino's immediate concern will be to avoid the calling of an Extraordinary Congress, triggered if 43 or more FIFA member associations make a formal written request for one.
Beyond that, he will have seven months to rebuild damaged relationships with his supporters and shore up his position against challengers.
Infantino's opponents will need to find a candidate before the November 18 deadline for nominations for the FIFA election.
