Fifa
scraps proposal to sell off stakes in World Cup after widespread backlash
Gianni Infantino issues statement on controversial plan
‘This
proposal will not proceed,’ confirms Fifa president
Nick Ames
Sat 1 Aug
2026 00.55 BST
Gianni
Infantino’s proposal to sell chunks of the World Cup to private investors has
sensationally collapsed, with the Fifa president admitting the project “has
created divisions of a nature that are no longer of the interest of the
objective”, amid widespread anger globally.
The plan
had caused ructions within football around the world, leading Uefa to threaten
a boycott of future Fifa tournaments if it was not shelved. Other
confederations had also come out in opposition while one of Infantino’s senior
advisors, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned on Friday in protest at the scheme. The
Fifa chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, had also aimed a scathing rebuke at
Infantino’s “serious lack of respect” in seeking to force it through with
minimal consultation.
It has
led Infantino to back down amid speculation the venture capital firm Thrive
Capital, which was leading the proposed investor group, had also expressed
doubts after a week that threatened to tear the sport apart. Infantino’s
previously secure presidency has come under severe pressure and it remains to
be seen whether his climbdown will be enough to save his position.
“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.
“Our
purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. As a
result, this proposal will not proceed. Moving forward, my intent is to bring
all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit
of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing
football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our
support.”
The
proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), unveiled earlier this week, had been
intended to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by selling a significant
stake in the commercial rights of the men’s and women’s World Cups, and the
Club World Cup, to investors. It promised an increase in distribution to “over
$10bn” (£7.5bn) being spread back among Fifa’s 211 member associations. A
deadline of 19 September had been set for member associations to sign up to the
scheme, which offered an optional $20m (£14.8m) to those participating.
But the
plan was roundly rejected by European countries’ FAs, who agreed upon a boycott
at an emergency meeting on Thursday. Concacaf and the Asian Football
Confederation, the latter with a stinging statement on Friday morning, had also
made their distaste clear. While Infantino retains a stronghold in Africa he
was left with nowhere to go, the numbers to push through the plan in any
credible form having eluded him.
Attention
will now turn to Infantino’s future given the scale of the internal revolt
within Fifa and the severe hit his standing has taken elsewhere. It is unlikely
his withdrawal of the plan will sway member associations who had already become
deeply disenchanted by his handling of the Folarin Balogun affair, which
unfolded three weeks previously during the World Cup. But some observers have
wondered whether recourse to Fifa’s reserves, which stand at around $4bn
(£2.97bn), for the promised FFE cash would convince enough federations to save
his skin.
Uefa and
other confederations have stepped up their search for candidates to run against
Infantino in next year’s Fifa election, in which he had been expected to
comfortably win a fourth term. Their appetite is unlikely to change and time
will tell whether Infantino can turn his fortunes around after an episode that
has had a shattering impact on his credibility.
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