Fifa’s multibillion World Cup investment plan triggers fierce Uefa rebuke after Spain 2026 win

Fifa is facing an escalating confrontation with Uefa after reports that president Gianni Infantino is exploring a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors in a deal worth more than €17bn.

The row comes only days after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup, won by Spain, and centres on allegations that Infantino wants to package football’s flagship tournament into a new corporate vehicle, with Fifa retaining control while outside investors buy minority shares.

According to The Times, Infantino is considering a structure in which he would move into a commissioner-style role overseeing the new entity once his term as Fifa president ends.

Uefa, led by Aleksander Ceferin, has responded with an unusually strong public intervention, accusing Fifa of crossing a red line in the way global football is governed.

Uefa issues stark warning

In a strongly worded statement carried by The Times, European football’s governing body called on national associations and every level of the game to oppose the proposal.

“UEFA takes this matter very seriously. All national football associations and all stakeholders, from leagues to clubs, players, fans and governments, and everyone who cares about the future of the sport, should do the same,” the statement said.

“The essence of football and its governance is not a commodity to be bought and sold, particularly with no transparency over who the beneficiaries are. None of us owns football. It is not Fifa’s to sell.”

Uefa framed the idea as a fundamental threat to the sport’s integrity, arguing that football’s global institutions should not be treated as assets for financial engineering.

Reported structure of proposed deal

British media reports claim Infantino’s team has been working on a plan to sell minority stakes in the commercial rights to the World Cup through a newly created company.

The Times reports that preliminary agreements have already been signed, valuing the transaction at more than €17bn, with Fifa expected to hold a majority share and private investors invited to buy into the remaining stake for sums running into billions of euros.

US financial giant JP Morgan is said to be overseeing the process, while former US president Donald Trump has reportedly been consulted about the project.

Infantino is understood to be a candidate to chair the new entity once he leaves the Fifa presidency, giving him continued influence over the competition’s commercial direction.

Impact on World Cup format and calendar

High-ranking Fifa officials have, according to English media, discussed a framework under which all 211 member associations would be involved in the agreement, though no detailed breakdown of how revenues or voting rights might be allocated has been made public.

The reports suggest the proposals go beyond a simple ownership restructure and could reshape the tournament itself.

The World Cup is already due to expand to 48 teams, but the new investment model is said to contemplate an even wider field in future editions, further increasing the number of participating national teams.

The same discussions have also reportedly raised the possibility of changing the competition’s traditional four-year cycle. Under the ideas being studied, the World Cup could be staged less frequently than once every four years, although no specific timetable has been disclosed.

Transparency concerns at heart of dispute

While many key details of the plan remain undisclosed, the lack of clarity over who would own and profit from World Cup revenues has become a focal point of Uefa’s objections.

By insisting that “no one” owns football and that it is “not Fifa’s to sell”, Uefa is positioning itself as the defender of football’s public-interest character against what it portrays as a move towards financial commodification.

Fifa has not publicly detailed or confirmed the reported structure, the identities of potential investors, or a timetable for any decision, but the scale of the figures involved and the prospect of private equity-style ownership of the World Cup have already prompted one of the sharpest clashes in recent years between the sport’s two most powerful governing bodies.