By Paul Joseph
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has shelved plans to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup after the proposal triggered widespread opposition from football stakeholders, senior FIFA officials and continental football bodies.
The decision marks a dramatic reversal of a plan that sought to establish a $20 billion commercial entity to manage FIFA’s flagship competitions, with private investors taking a minority stake in the business.
Announcing the decision on Friday, Infantino admitted that the proposal had become too divisive to pursue.
“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,” he said.
The proposal, unveiled earlier this week, would have transferred the commercial operations of the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup, into a separate company valued at $20 billion, with investors acquiring a 20 per cent ownership interest.
Reports indicated that one of the prospective investors was a New York-based investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The proposal drew increasing criticism as senior figures within FIFA openly distanced themselves from the initiative. Carlos Cordeiro, a presidential adviser and former president of the United States Soccer Federation, resigned in protest, insisting he could not support the sale of a stake in football’s most prestigious competition.
FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour also criticised the initiative, alleging that many senior officials had not been adequately informed about the project and describing it as a personal initiative rather than an institutional decision.
European football governing body UEFA mounted the strongest opposition, with its 55 member associations threatening to boycott FIFA competitions, including the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Poland, if the proposal went ahead.
UEFA argued that the World Cup should remain under the full stewardship of FIFA, declaring that “some things are simply too important to sell.”
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also rejected the proposal, increasing pressure on FIFA to abandon the initiative.
Following the withdrawal, Infantino pledged to rebuild consensus among football stakeholders and continue efforts to expand the global game.
“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,” he said.
The reversal represents one of the most significant challenges of Infantino’s presidency and is expected to shape discussions ahead of FIFA’s presidential election scheduled for March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco.
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