Key Points:
FIFA President won't sell stakes to private investigators after many footballing groups began to oppose the idea.
Infantino needed support from more than half of FIFA's 211 members, which means 106 votes. But this became very hard to get.
FIFA's decision to cancel this private investment plan shows how much pressure Infantino faced from football's biggest organizations.
By Gopal Ram Tripathi
FIFA PRESIDENT GIANNI INFANTINO has cancelled his plan to sell stakes in the organization's competitions to private investors. This decision comes after strong pushback from many football groups around the world. Infantino said the plan had caused too much division within football. He explained that this was not what he wanted when he first proposed the idea. Because of this, he announced the plan will no longer move forward.
The plan would have offered FIFA's 211 member countries $40 million each if they agreed to support private investment in FIFA tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups. But many groups pushed back hard against this idea. UEFA, which runs football in Europe, said its members would boycott the World Cup if the plan continued. Other major football groups also spoke out against it.
Many important people and organizations rejected Infantino's plan. FIFA's own chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, said the organization's staff had been misled about the project. Carlos Cordeiro, who was a senior advisor to Infantino, resigned from his position. He said the deal was bad for football and would risk the sport's future.
Other football confederations joined the opposition too. Concacaf, which oversees football in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, said its members rejected the plan. Many countries in this region were losing trust in Infantino. The Asian Football Confederation also stood with UEFA and Concacaf against the proposal. Even UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Infantino was not the right person to lead FIFA.
For the plan to succeed, Infantino needed support from more than half of FIFA's 211 members, which means 106 votes. But this became very hard to get. UEFA alone has 55 votes, Concacaf has 35 votes, and Asia has 46 votes. If these groups all voted no, that would total 136 nations against the plan. This made it nearly impossible for Infantino to move forward.
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FIFA's original idea was to create a new business branch to manage its major events, including the World Cup. This branch would have been called FIFA Forward Enterprise. Outside investors could have purchased a small share in this new branch without gaining full control.
A document from the investment bank JP Morgan explained how this plan could increase future earnings. It said each member country could receive more money between 2035 and 2039. However, the document did not mention anything about the women's game, which many people saw as a serious problem.
The plan was expected to be led by an investment group called Thrive Eternal. This is an American venture capital company started by Joshua Kushner. He is the brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump. When reporters first asked Trump about the plan, he said he had not spoken to Infantino about it directly.
Infantino has led FIFA since 2016, when he defeated then AFC President Sheikh Salman by a vote of 115 to 88. FIFA's next presidential election will take place at the organization's 77th Congress in Morocco next March, and anyone hoping to run has until November 18 to officially enter the race.
Before this controversy began, most people expected Infantino to win re-election without any competition. Several football associations, including some in Europe, had already said they planned to vote for him. Now, it is unclear whether this week's events will cause many of them to change their minds and withdraw that support.
FIFA's decision to cancel this private investment plan shows how much pressure Infantino faced from football's biggest organizations. Groups like UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation made it clear they did not support his idea. Even people within FIFA's own leadership spoke out against it. While the immediate controversy has ended, Infantino now faces the bigger challenge of rebuilding trust. His future as FIFA president may depend on how well he can repair these relationships before the next election in March.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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