First, fresh claims surfaced that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is attempting to kick out the Moroccan bid for the 2026 World Cup from the race before the vote has even taken place.

These suggestions were further compounded by the ethics proceedings brought against secretary general Fatma Samoura, initiated and then dismissed quicker than you can say "El Hadji Diouf", related to Morocco’s attempt to land the hosting rights for the 2026 tournament and a supposed undeclared family link between the highest-ranking female FIFA official and the former Premier League player.

Laced in between all of this is Infantino calling a meeting of the FIFA Bureau – the five Confederation heads plus the FIFA President – after world football’s governing body received a $25 billion (£18 billion/€21 billion) rights offer which could radically alter the football calendar.

And it simply would not be a crazy week without the intervention of United States President Donald Trump, who yesterday sent out a thinly-veiled warning to nations who might oppose the joint North American bid via Twitter, met with a reminder from FIFA about the bidding rules everyone is supposed to adhere to.

FIFA were desperate to avoid the alleged corruption which plagued the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid races - won by Russia and Qatar respectively - when they set about establishing a "fair and transparent" process for 2026 but the controversy still lingers, this time surrounding alleged undue influence from Infantino.

Supporters of the Moroccan bid, and indeed officials working on it, would dispute the fairness of the 2026 process. In fact, there has been open criticism of world football’s governing body and how they have gone about it thus far, with Fouzi Lekjaa, the head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, outlining such concerns in a letter to the FIFA President.

Those officials accuse Infantino of doing everything possible to ensure Morocco is not a candidate come vote time at the FIFA Congress in Moscow on June 13, the day before the opening match of this year’s World Cup in Russia.

From allegedly altering the scoring system just hours before Morocco submitted its bid to accusations he asked members of the FIFA Evaluation Task Force, which has inspected both bids with differing degrees of satisfaction, to find faults in the North African country’s effort, Infantino has not yet been able to shirk the claims.

The speculation only intensified this week when the news broke that Samoura was the subject of an investigation from the all-powerful Ethics Committee over a supposed link between the FIFA secretary general and Morocco 2026 ambassador Diouf, a former striker for the Senegalese national team.  

While Samoura rightly labelled the story as ridiculous as she denied any such link, the Moroccans were understandably frustrated and angry at what they saw as a "another shameful attempt at undermining the bid process".

A source close to the Moroccan bid reportedly said they were "in no doubt who is behind the perceived conspiracy", although Samoura unsurprisingly insisted it was "100 per cent" nothing to do with Infantino.

The denials have been vociferous but it appears a split is opening up within the FIFA leadership, a cavern which is only likely to get deeper.

If this was a race based solely on merit and bereft of the cronyism and back-door politics which always accompanies bids for major sporting events, there is little doubt the joint North American bid would win.

Their stadiums, facilities and financial promises are of far greater standard than their Moroccan counterparts. It is an opportunity FIFA seem intent on capitalising on.

Of course, there are more mitigating factors in any bid race and such an idyllic scenario is never likely to happen. There will always be existential elements which will have an impact on the end result and a contest for a FIFA World Cup is no different.

But, in a way, you can forgive Infantino for wanting United 2026 to prevail. After all, the North American bid claims holding a World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico will generate around $5 billion (£3.5 billion/€4 billion) in economic activity and $2.1 billion (£1.5 billion/€1.7 billion)) in ticket revenue alone.

This comes at a time where the ghost of FIFA’s past still hovers over the governing body like a dark, ominous cloud, where sponsors remain reticent and where they are continuing to fork out for excessive legal costs with the United States Department of Justice investigation into corruption. No wonder Infantino is so keen to have the tournament in the region.

Because that is what FIFA’s actions over the past week, and for the majority of Infantino’s tenure, boil down to – money.

Infantino, remember, pledged to give each of the 211 Member Associations $5 million (£3.5 million/€4 million) every four years for football development, coupled with $40 million (£29 million/€39 million) to each Confederation over the same period, and he has long struggled to find a way to pay for that.

It was a promise that held huge sway with the electorate and ultimately saw him succeed his banned compatriot Sepp Blatter as FIFA President at the Extraordinary Congress in Zurich in February 2016.

It goes without saying, though, that this should not lead to attempting to influence the outcome of the vote and both FIFA and Infantino have dismissed the recent stream of reports suggesting otherwise.

"The FIFA President is not involved in this process and he will not take part in the vote of the Congress," a FIFA statement read. "These are facts and not ‘maybe’ or gossip."

What cannot be denied, however, is the allure of money. Infantino earlier this week called for an emergency meeting to discuss an offer tabled by a group comprised of a Japanese bank plus investors from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, which could generate tens of billions for world football’s governing body.

The Bureau of the Council will peruse over new details of the offer for control of a new quadrennial 24-team Club World Cup, where half of the teams would come from Europe, and a proposed league for national teams to replace the Confederations Cup - two of FIFA’s tournament portfolio which have become largely irrelevant over the years.

Infantino raised the idea at a heated Council meeting in Bogota last month, where he failed to move the plan forward, and he is hoping to persuade his sceptics when they reconvene in Zurich next week.

The FIFA President has stressed the need for urgency, claiming the deal must be signed within 60 days, but opposition is rife among some of the Confederations, particularly Europe.

As well as the usual concerns about scheduling and where an expanded Club World Cup would fit in to an already-packed football calendar, it is thought some are unhappy with the way Infantino has orchestrated this, with reports suggesting he has been far too aggressive from the get-go.

While these are not uncommon gripes about Infantino’s management style during his Presidency so far – remember the removing of the Ethics Committee heads last year? – it remains to be seen whether the opposition at this stage translates into rejection when the proposal is put to a vote.

If he is successful, Infantino will be able to add more financial muscle to a bid of his own - for re-election next year.

Of course, his apparent dream of the 2026 World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico - which would also aid him in his promise of cash injections to members - could yet be derailed.

In providing his first public input into the race, Trump’s tweet managed to annoy FIFA and prompted some of the American media to imply his opinion had put the United 2026 campaign into further jeopardy.

Many thought United 2026 would be streets ahead with less than two months until the Congress but Morocco 2026, despite all their obvious faults, have managed to stay in tact and have gained support from across the world.

Trump has clearly not helped, and his latest offering will not have gone down well with the United 2026 team.

"The U.S. has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup," he wrote on Twitter.

"It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid. Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?"

Bidding country Governments are warned against activities or statements which "may adversely affect the integrity of the Bidding Process and create an undue influence on the Bidding Process" by FIFA, and Trump’s tweet falls into that category.

The US President’s tweet prompted a response from FIFA, which sought to remind both bidders of the integrity rules.

Not a smart move from Trump, perhaps, but fitting of a chaotic week which could prove momentous for FIFA in the coming months and beyond.