FIFA Chief Infantino Scraps Private Equity World Cup Plan After Global Backlash

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has withdrawn his contentious proposal to monetize World Cup revenues through a private equity partnership, reversing course after facing widespread opposition from the global soccer community. The decision follows mounting pressure that intensified daily since the plan’s announcement on Tuesday, with major soccer confederations unified in their rejection of the scheme.

“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 Friday. “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”

The original plan called for establishing a $20 billion company to manage World Cup operations, with private investors—including the Kushner family—acquiring a 20% stake in the newly created subsidiary. The proposal also would have included Club World Cups for both men’s and women’s competitions under the new corporate structure.

UEFA’s 55 member nations voted Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all FIFA competitions in response to Infantino’s initiative. Both the Asian Football Confederation and North America’s CONCACAF separately announced their opposition to the privatization scheme, creating a coordinated front against the measure.

Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser and a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned Friday in protest. “I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said, urging other senior FIFA officials to voice their concerns publicly.

FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA, issued a critical statement to The Associated Press Friday, accusing the organization of deception. Lamour characterized the initiative as “the project of one person” and called on football’s political leadership to address governance failures within the organization.

Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, leads the New York-based investment firm designated as the proposed “anchor investor” for the restructured World Cup entity. The Women’s Under-20 World Cup, scheduled to begin September 5 in Poland, now faces potential boycotts from UEFA member nations.