UEFA Pulls Confidence in Infantino as FIFA Dumps Private-Investment
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- UEFA declared it had "lost confidence" in Infantino's FIFA leadership in a statement using words like "shabby" and "secret schemes," referencing Infantino's 2016 promise that "the money of Fifa is your money."
- FIFA withdrew its private-investment plan on Saturday after a five-day backlash; the plan had lasted two days longer than the European Super League did before collapsing in 2021.
- FIFA's chief operating officer Kevin Lamour publicly called the plans "the project of one person" and claimed FIFA's administration had been "deceived," saying he was willing to lose his job over the matter.
- The proposal offered $40m (£29.67m) per nation for football development if countries signed up by 19 September, despite FIFA holding over $2bn (£1.48bn) in reserves and expecting record revenues of about $15bn (£11.13bn) from the 2026 World Cup.
- Senior FIFA figures including vice-presidents, special advisers, and executives had no idea the plans were being drawn up, according to the BBC, raising a central transparency question that was never asked publicly or privately.
- Thrive Eternal, the American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner — brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner — was set to lead the investor group; a source told the New York Post the episode had become a "brand nightmare" for Kushner.
- US President Donald Trump distanced himself from Infantino when asked about the plans on Friday, telling reporters he had not spoken to the 56-year-old FIFA president about the proposal.
- Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Football Australia chair Anter Isaac joined UEFA in demanding future initiatives be presented through "proper consultation" and due process, while UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister said confederations would consider encouraging alternative candidates ahead of Infantino's March re-election bid.
Why it matters: Infantino faces an unprecedented credibility crisis heading into his March 2026 re-election, with confederations now publicly weighing alternative candidates. The episode confirms what senior FIFA insiders allege was a unilateral plan pushed through a $2bn-reserve organization that did not need the private capital — a governance failure that UEFA has now put on the record with unprecedented force.
