FIFA president Gianni Infantino has withdrawn his plan to bring private investment funds into the organisation’s top competitions after a wave of opposition from confederations and football bodies around the world.
In a statement on Saturday, Infantino acknowledged the initiative had caused sharp divisions. Speaking to Sky News, he said the proposal would not go forward and that he intended to bring all interested parties back to the table in the coming days and weeks, with the aim of continuing football’s development in every corner of the world, particularly in countries most in need of support.
What the plan involved
The proposal called for a new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise, to take over the commercial rights to tournaments including the World Cup, covering broadcast rights, sponsorship deals, ticket sales and hospitality packages. FIFA planned to sell a minority stake in this entity to private investment funds.
The investment vehicle was to be led by Thrive Eternal, a fund managed by Thrive Capital, a firm founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump.
Infantino had asked national federations to approve the proposal by September 19. Reports indicated that each federation backing the plan was being offered $40 million (approximately 35 million euros) in funding.
Confederations push back
UEFA announced that its member associations unanimously agreed to boycott all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the proposal was not dropped. The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF also publicly rejected the plan, though they stopped short of threatening a boycott.
Internal dissent at FIFA
Opposition also came from within the organisation. On Friday, Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned, citing disagreement with the initiative. Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour publicly criticised the president, describing the plan as the work of one man and accusing Infantino of having misled FIFA executives.
