FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abruptly abandoned a controversial proposal to sell equity stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The reversal follows intense global pushback, including threatened boycotts from European federations and high-profile resignations from within soccer’s governing body.
The $20 Billion Spinoff Proposal and Private Backing
The abandoned initiative sought to fold FIFA’s commercial operations—which encompass the men’s and women’s World Cups alongside the Club World Cups—into a standalone $20 billion spinoff company. Infantino had pitched the restructuring as a necessary vehicle to unlock greater financial value for the sport.
According to reporting from cbssports.com, the governing body identified its lead investor as a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner and son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump. The plan was revealed on Tuesday, setting a stringent September 19 deadline for member associations to approve the transaction while warning of potential funding cuts for dissenters.
Infantino maintained that his strategy aimed to reinforce member associations especially in countries where support is most needed
. Yet the speed of the rollout—paired with concurrent reports of a fast-tracked move toward a 64-team tournament for 2030—convinced federations that they were being rushed into a permanent structural shift without adequate consultation.
Global Resistance and UEFA Boycott Threats
Resistance crystallized swiftly across multiple continents. UEFA and its 55 member associations announced intentions to boycott all tournaments, characterizing the initiative as an attempt to treat soccer’s premier tournament as a commercial investment product rather than a sporting legacy.
The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF joined in opposition.
Reporting by the BBC notes that Infantino’s future leadership had previously appeared secure heading into the organization’s upcoming 77th Congress in Morocco. Prior to the equity dispute, several associations had already indicated their backing for his re-election bid, though it remains undetermined whether the events surrounding the investment controversy will trigger a broader withdrawal of that support.
Internal Dissent and Resignations Inside FIFA
Opposition quickly spilled over from external federations into the inner circle of soccer leadership. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to the FIFA President and former president of U.S. Soccer, resigned from his post in protest.
In a detailed statement reported by BBC Sport, Cordeiro stated that he unequivocally
opposed the restructuring and rejected the premise that the organization required outside equity partners to generate value.
Kevin Lamour, the governing body’s chief operating officer, launched an equally sharp public critique, telling the Associated Press that staff members had been kept in the dark about the maneuver. Lamour characterized the undertaking as the project of one person
and made clear he was willing to accept the professional consequences of speaking out.
“If that means I lose my job, then so be it, I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”
Kevin Lamour, Chief Operating Officer at FIFA
The Official Reversal and Future Outlook
Confronted with collapsing internal unity and universal external hostility, Infantino announced that the initiative had been abandoned. In an official statement published on Friday, he acknowledged that the strategy had ruptured consensus.
“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.”
Gianni Infantino, FIFA President
The sudden retreat arrives on the heels of the most financially successful men’s tournament in history, held across North America, which contributed to an overall four-year revenue haul of $15 billion. Infantino indicated plans to engage stakeholders in the coming weeks to mend fractured relationships.
Whether member associations will pursue further challenges to his leadership ahead of the March candidate nomination deadline remains the central open question for the governing body.
