Fifa scraps controversial World Cup investment plan
Fifa president Gianni Infantino drops the disputed plan to sell stakes in major tournaments following widespread backlash and boycott threats from major confederations.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Fifa president Gianni Infantino officially scraps the controversial World Cup stake-sale plan.
- The proposal aimed to create a commercial subsidiary allowing minority, non-controlling external investments.
- Uefa, AFC, and Concacaf strongly opposed the plan, with European associations voting to boycott.
- The crisis unfolds as Infantino seeks re-election for a fourth term at the March Fifa Congress.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has officially abandoned the contentious proposal to sell equity stakes in the governing body's flagship competitions following fierce widespread opposition. The Swiss official stated clearly that the proposal will not move forward.
Before dropping the initiative, Infantino had dangled a financial incentive of 40 million dollars, roughly 30 million pounds, to all 211 member associations if they backed private investment in the men's and women's World Cups. He set a strict deadline of September 19 for federations to accept the terms to secure an initial payout of 20 million dollars, around 15 million pounds.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
However, the plan ran into massive resistance from regional governing bodies. European football's 55 member associations under Uefa voted on Thursday to boycott the World Cups if the plans proceeded, following similar rejections from Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Together, these bodies possessed enough votes to comfortably block the initiative.
This sudden U-turn marks a critical juncture for 56-year-old Gianni Infantino, who faces intense pressure as he seeks a fourth term as president at the upcoming Fifa Congress in Morocco next March. Initially anticipated to run unopposed, his push to commercialize tournaments—which financial reports suggested could raise up to 10 billion dollars or 7.5 billion pounds—has deeply fractured the organization and triggered rare high-level dissent, including the resignation of senior Fifa figure Cordeiro.
The core of the scrapped project involved establishing a commercial subsidiary named Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) to run major events, inviting external investors to acquire minority, non-controlling stakes. A 25-page document prepared by investment bank JP Morgan outlined how tournaments would expand to increase payouts to 24 million euros, approximately 20.5 million pounds, per member association for the 2035-2039 cycle, though the women's game was omitted from the text.
Fifa had identified Thrive Eternal, an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner—brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared—as the expected lead for the investor group. Meanwhile, President Trump, who has developed a close rapport with Infantino since taking office for a second term in 2025, stated on Friday that he had not discussed the proposals with the Fifa boss.
"The future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game."
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Asian Football Confederation president
Despite Infantino insisting that the plan was crafted to empower member associations, particularly those most in need, and reiterating that Fifa's purpose is to unite and improve, the fallout has been profound. Reports indicated that Infantino kept even some of Fifa's eight vice-presidents in the dark regarding the scheme, which ultimately collapsed under the weight of unified regional opposition.
Source: BBC Sport
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