Infantino abandons controversial World Cup private equity plan after global backlash

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has abandoned plans to sell a stake in the profits from the World Cup to private equity investors after opposition from football organisations across Europe, Asia and North America.

“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 interests of the objective set out in the first place,” Infantino said in a statement yesterday.

“Our purpose has always been and will always be to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”

Infantino had proposed creating a $20bn (R331bn) company to operate Fifa’s commercial businesses, including the men’s and women’s World Cup and Club World Cup competitions. Private investors would have owned 20% of the proposed subsidiary.

The plan triggered growing criticism after it was announced on Tuesday. On Thursday, Uefa’s 55 member associations agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other Fifa competitions in response.

Concacaf, the governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the Asian Football Confederation also declared their opposition.

“Some things are simply too important to sell. The Fifa World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale,” Uefa said.

The proposal’s suggested “anchor investor” was a New York-based investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of United States president Donald Trump.

Senior figures turn on Infantino

Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned on Friday after representing Fifa on the White House Task Force for the World Cup. The former Goldman Sachs banker also called on other senior Fifa employees to speak publicly about the plan.

“I cannot stand by while Fifa considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” he said in a statement, issued only hours after Fifa had insisted: “Nobody is selling football.”

Fifa chief operating officer Kevin Lamour then told The Associated Press that staff had been misled by Infantino’s lack of transparency during months of planning for the proposed sale.

Lamour, who has worked with Infantino at both Fifa and Uefa, said the project should not continue.

“It is the project of one person,” he wrote.

“Not only must this project not go ahead, but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

The next Fifa tournament is the Women’s Under-20 World Cup, which begins in Poland on 5 September. Uefa members had said they would boycott the competition under the plan.

The collapse of the proposal could weaken Infantino’s position after the public interventions by Cordeiro and Lamour. He was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and again in 2023, and Fifa statutes allow him to serve one more four-year term.

The deadline for candidates in the next presidential election is 18 November. The vote is due to take place four months later in Rabat, Morocco, where Fifa has its African headquarters.

Infantino’s position had appeared secure despite long-standing concerns about his leadership style and previous efforts to advance unpopular projects. The failed private equity plan could now make his position more uncertain.