AFC Opposes Infantino's FIFA Investment Plan
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- Carlos Cordeiro resigned as Infantino's senior adviser after four years and 11 months, calling the proposal 'a bad deal for football' that would 'mortgage football's future' — the first senior FIFA figure to quit over the plans.
- AFC became the third confederation to oppose Infantino's plan, joining UEFA and Concacaf in saying the proposal could not achieve the 'necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward.'
- If all members back their confederations' positions, 136 of FIFA's 211 member associations would oppose the plan — exceeding the 106-vote straight majority Infantino indicated was needed to pass it.
- Thrive Eternal, an American VC firm founded by Joshua Kushner (brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner), is expected to lead the investor group in the new FIFA Forward Enterprise subsidiary.
- A 25-page JP Morgan document outlining the plan contains no mention of the women's game despite proposing tournament expansion to boost payouts to an estimated €24m per member association in the 2035-2039 cycle.
- FIFA defended the proposal, saying 'nobody is selling football' and claiming the consultation process was 'disrupted by incorrect media reports.'
- Smaller federations like Uganda may still back the plan given their reliance on FIFA Forward funding — $2.8bn was distributed across 211 member associations through 2022, plus $5m per association and $60m per confederation.
Why it matters: Infantino's plan needs 106 of 211 votes to pass, but three confederations representing 136 potential votes (UEFA's 55, AFC's 46, Concacaf's 35) now publicly oppose it — making approval near-impossible unless smaller federations break ranks. The Thrive Eternal connection to Jared Kushner's brother also entangles the deal in political crosscurrents ahead of the 2026 World Cup on US soil.
