FIFA cancels World Cup sell-off plan after backlash

FIFA President Gianni Infantino scrapped his proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup after widespread backlash, which included dissent from within the organization and a threatened boycott by European nations. Infantino had initially proposed creating a $20 billion company to oversee the World Cup with private investors, including the Kushner family, but saw increasing pushback since the announcement made on Tuesday. In a statement released late Friday, Infantino confirmed that the "proposal will not proceed."

"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 stated.

The reversal followed the criticisms voiced by two senior FIFA officials earlier in the day, prompting one to resign as a presidential adviser and the other to declare that staff had been misled regarding the project.

Carlos Cordeiro, who had represented FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned in protest, emphasizing, "I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup," and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out against the proposal.

Shortly thereafter, FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour issued a statement to The Associated Press, stating that FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino's lack of transparency in the project's planning. "It is the project of one person," Lamour asserted, adding, "Not only must this project not go ahead ... but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions."

UEFA's 55 member nations had discussed the possibility of boycotting the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions in response to the proposal, claiming that "some things are simply too important to sell." UEFA characterized the situation as "not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA's duty as the custodian of world football."

Infantino, who previously worked within UEFA, was first elected to lead FIFA in 2016. His proposal involved spinning off FIFA's commercial operations, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, into a subsidiary valued at $20 billion, with 20% ownership offered to private investors. The designated "anchor investor" was identified as an investment firm based in New York, founded by Joshua Kushner, sibling of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Infantino concluded his statement by expressing his intention to bring all interested parties back together in the upcoming days and weeks, aiming to foster a collective interest in football’s growth, particularly in countries that require support. The next FIFA event is the Women’s Under-20 World Cup, beginning on September 5 in Poland, which UEFA members indicated they would boycott.

This miscalculation could prove detrimental to Infantino, especially following the departures of Lamour and Cordeiro. Although reelected unopposed in 2019 and 2023, Infantino can serve one additional four-year term according to FIFA's statutes. The deadline for nominations for the next presidential election is set for November 18, which comes four months before the vote scheduled to take place in Rabat, Morocco.