Football
Football
Infantino Scraps Controversial World Cup Investment Plan Amid Global Opposition
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned his contentious proposal to sell stakes in the organization's major competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups, following widespread global opposition. The plan, which sought private investment and reportedly involved a New York firm founded by Joshua Kushner, faced intense pushback from within football's governing bodies and beyond.
Infantino confirmed on Friday that the project “will not proceed,” acknowledging that it had “created divisions” that undermined its original objective. This reversal comes after European football’s 55 member associations, UEFA, voted to boycott World Cups if the plans went ahead. Concacaf, governing North, Central America, and the Caribbean, and the AFC from Asia, also voiced strong objections.
The resistance was not limited to confederations. Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned over the matter, calling it “a bad deal for football.” Reports indicate that many Concacaf members are losing faith in the FIFA president’s leadership.
Infantino had offered all 211 member associations $40 million to back the proposal, which would have folded FIFA’s commercial operations into a spin-off company. The swift abandonment of the plan highlights the significant pressure exerted by the sport’s major stakeholders against the proposed private investment.
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