Infantino withdraws FIFA tournament investment plan after global football revolt

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned a controversial proposal to sell stakes in the governing body’s flagship competitions, including the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups, following widespread opposition from football confederations and national associations across the globe.

Infantino, who has led FIFA since February 2016, confirmed the decision in a statement, admitting that the proposal had created divisions within the football community rather than strengthening the sport.

“The initiative has created divisions that run counter to its original purpose,” he said. “As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”

The now-withdrawn plan would have seen FIFA’s 211 member associations each receive $40 million (approximately £30 million) in exchange for supporting private investment in the organisation’s premier tournaments.

Opposition gathered momentum over the past week, culminating in a united stand by several continental football confederations. UEFA, representing 55 European football associations, voted to boycott future FIFA World Cups if the proposal was implemented.

The resistance quickly spread beyond Europe. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football announced that its members had rejected the proposal, with reports indicating that many associations in the region had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership.

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The Asian Football Confederation subsequently declared its solidarity with UEFA and CONCACAF, effectively creating a voting bloc capable of defeating the proposal. Together, UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC account for 136 of FIFA’s 211 member associations, comfortably surpassing the 106 votes required to block the measure.

The proposal also triggered dissent within FIFA’s own leadership. Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour reportedly said the organisation’s leadership had been misled over the project, while senior strategy and governance adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned, describing the investment proposal as “a bad deal for football” that would “mortgage football’s future.”

Political criticism also emerged, with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham reportedly stating that Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead FIFA.

Despite FIFA insisting on Friday that “nobody is selling football” and maintaining that the proposal would proceed, Infantino eventually acknowledged that securing the required majority had become impossible after the AFC joined the opposition.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football and the Oceania Football Confederation had planned discussions on the proposal later in August, while South America’s Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol had requested additional information regarding the plan’s operational framework and long-term implications before taking a position.

The reversal comes at a critical time for Infantino, who is preparing to seek a fourth term as FIFA president at the governing body’s Congress scheduled for March next year.

Following the withdrawal of the proposal, Infantino said his priority is now to reunite football’s stakeholders, stressing his commitment to working “in the spirit of shared interest” for the benefit of the global game.