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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has abandoned his controversial proposal to sell a stake in the governing body’s commercial and event operations after fierce opposition from football’s major confederations and senior officials.
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The dramatic U-turn follows boycott threats from UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation, as well as the resignation of a top adviser and public criticism from FIFA’s chief operating officer.
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The growing backlash has shifted attention from the failed proposal to Infantino’s own future, with several football leaders questioning whether he still has the confidence needed to secure another term as FIFA president.
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Although the investment plan has been withdrawn, the political fallout has intensified ahead of the 2027 FIFA presidential election, where Infantino could now face serious challengers.
August 1, (THEWILL) — Gianni Infantino’s grip on FIFA leadership has come under unprecedented pressure after the FIFA president was forced to abandon his controversial plan to sell a stake in the governing body’s commercial and event operations following a wave of opposition from across world football.
In a dramatic reversal announced late Friday, Infantino confirmed that FIFA would no longer pursue the proposal, admitting the plan had become too divisive.
“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.
“Our purpose has always been and will always be to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
The abandoned proposal would have seen FIFA create a multi-billion-dollar commercial entity to oversee the World Cup and other competitions, with up to a 20 percent stake made available to private investors”, Infantino stated.
However, what began as a commercial strategy quickly evolved into one of the biggest political crises of Infantino’s presidency.
UEFA led the resistance, warning that all 55 of its member associations were prepared to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the plan went ahead. Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation later aligned themselves with the European body’s position, leaving FIFA’s leadership increasingly isolated.
The pressure intensified from within FIFA itself.
Carlos Cordeiro, one of Infantino’s senior advisers, resigned in protest, describing the proposal as “a bad deal for football” and questioning why FIFA would sell part of its most valuable asset despite holding billions of dollars in reserves and operating without debt.
Soon after, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour publicly distanced himself from the proposal, reportedly describing it as the project of one individual rather than the organisation as a whole. He also suggested football’s political leadership needed to make difficult decisions about the future.
The combination of external resistance and internal dissent ultimately forced FIFA to abandon the proposal, but the damage to Infantino’s authority may prove far more difficult to repair.
The FIFA president had entered the week from a position of strength after overseeing a record-breaking financial cycle that generated around $15 billion in revenue from the men’s World Cup. He was widely expected to seek another term in office at the 2027 FIFA presidential election with little opposition.
That outlook has now changed dramatically.
Football administrators across several confederations have openly questioned Infantino’s leadership following the failed proposal, while Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness said the situation represented a serious moment for both Norwegian and international football.
With nominations for the next FIFA presidential election expected later this year, the political landscape appears to have shifted significantly.
Although Infantino has succeeded in defusing the immediate crisis by withdrawing the investment proposal, attention has now turned to whether he can rebuild the trust of FIFA’s member associations and senior officials.
For the first time in years, the possibility of a genuine challenge to Infantino’s leadership no longer appears remote, raising fresh uncertainty over whether the Swiss-Italian administrator will secure another term at the helm of world football.
