GENEVA — FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned plans to sell a stake in World Cup profits to private equity investors after facing widespread opposition from football federations and senior officials across the sport.
Infantino announced Saturday that the proposal would not proceed, saying it had become clear the project had created divisions that outweighed its intended benefits.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” Infantino said in a statement.
The proposal sought to establish a $20 billion company to manage FIFA’s commercial assets, including the men’s and women’s World Cups and Club World Cups, with private investors holding a 20% stake. The reported anchor investor was a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner.
The plan faced mounting resistance after its unveiling earlier this week. UEFA’s 55 member associations voted to boycott FIFA competitions if the proposal moved forward, while the Asian Football Confederation and North America’s CONCACAF also publicly opposed the initiative.
“Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will.”
Pressure intensified Friday when Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser and FIFA’s representative on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned in protest, saying he could not support selling a stake in the tournament.
FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour also criticized the proposal, saying staff had been kept in the dark about the plans and describing it as “the project of one person.”
The failed initiative represents a significant setback for Infantino, who has previously pushed through controversial reforms despite opposition. Although he remains eligible to seek one final four-year term as FIFA president, the collapse of the proposal could weaken his standing ahead of the next presidential election, scheduled for March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco.
Source: Saudi Gazette