Gianni Infantino abandons proposal after opposition from UEFA, AFC, CONCACAF and growing concerns over the World Cup’s commercial future.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday announced the withdrawal of a proposal to allow private investment in the FIFA World Cup, following widespread opposition from football governing bodies and senior officials.
“Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve,” Infantino said in a statement.
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
The proposal, unveiled earlier this week, sought to establish a new commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to manage competitions including the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. FIFA said the venture could raise up to $4.2 billion, based on a valuation of $20 billion.
Under the plan, each of FIFA’s 211 member associations would have received a one-time payment of $20 million in early 2027, while funding for the 2027–2030 cycle would have increased from $8 million to $20 million.
Why did FIFA abandon the proposal?
The proposal faced immediate resistance from football confederations, which argued that allowing private investors to acquire even a minority stake in the commercial entity could undermine the independence of the sport.
European football’s governing body, UEFA, warned that none of its national associations would participate in FIFA competitions while the proposal remained under consideration.
“The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product,” UEFA said. “No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) also opposed the plan, while South America’s CONMEBOL requested further details on its governance, structure and long-term implications.
Pressure intensified after senior FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned, describing the proposal as “a bad deal for FIFA’s member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.”
What did Infantino say after shelving the plan?
Infantino said the proposal had been developed to strengthen FIFA’s member associations and would only have proceeded if it secured broad support.
“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 FIFA president added that he would now focus on rebuilding consensus within world football.
“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 controversy also drew political attention. The European Union publicly backed UEFA’s position, while UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead FIFA as criticism of the proposal mounted.