FIFA scraps World Cup sell-off plan after backlash
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- Gianni Infantino scrapped his proposed $20 billion World Cup private equity venture late Friday, writing in a statement that the proposal "will not proceed" after opposition "created divisions" within soccer's governing body
- UEFA's 55 member nations agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions including the Women's Under-20 World Cup starting Sept. 5 in Poland; Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation also publicly opposed the plan
- Carlos Cordeiro, who represented FIFA on the White House World Cup task force, resigned as Infantino's presidential adviser in protest, saying he "cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup"
- Kevin Lamour, FIFA's chief operating officer and longtime Infantino colleague, told the AP that staff were "deceived" by the project and warned it must not go ahead — calling it "the project of one person"
- The anchor investor in the proposed subsidiary was a New York-based firm created by Joshua Kushner, younger brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, with 20% of the new company going to private investors
- Infantino is allowed one more four-year term under FIFA statutes, with a Nov. 18 deadline for the next presidential contest — a previously secured position that the source notes could now become "more tenuous"
Why it matters: Two of FIFA's most senior officials publicly breaking with the sitting president is extraordinary and leaves Infantino more politically exposed ahead of the Nov. 18 deadline for his final allowed term. The plan's anchor investor being Joshua Kushner's firm — with the direct Jared Kushner/White House connection — added a political liability dimension that accelerated the U-turn beyond the sporting objections.
