Infantino abandons World Cup stake sale after UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC revolt, leaving his FIFA presidency in peril

The plan collapses

Gianni Infantino withdrew his proposal to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights in the early hours of Saturday, 1 August 2026, barely five days after unveiling it. A statement issued from FIFA's Zurich headquarters 96 minutes after midnight said the project would "not be pursued further" because it had "led to a division". The retreat came just 24 hours after UEFA threatened to boycott all future World Cups and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF joined the opposition.

Our goal was and always is to unite and bring about improvements. After careful consideration of all viewpoints, it has become clear that the project has led to a division that - regardless of the extent of support - is no longer in line with the originally pursued goal.

What Infantino proposed

The plan centred on a new subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would hold the commercial rights to the men's World Cup and other competitions. Private investors would have been able to acquire up to 20 percent of FFE, with the stake priced at around 3.4 billion Swiss francs. Infantino valued the whole entity at 20 billion dollars. Member associations were given until 19 September to approve the deal; a simple majority of 106 out of 211 votes plus FIFA Council consent would have sufficed. To secure support, FIFA promised each association a one-time payment of 16 million francs for special projects, plus a rise in regular four-year-cycle payments from the current 6.5 million francs to 16 million for 2027–2030 and nearly 20 million by 2038.

A wall of opposition

The incentives failed to sway the confederations. UEFA was first to act, threatening a closed boycott of all World Cups. CONCACAF and the AFC followed with formal statements of rejection. Inside FIFA, the revolt spread to Infantino's own leadership team. Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour said he and the administration had been "deceived", adding that the scheme was "the project of a single person, even if it costs me my job". Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's chief advisor and former US Soccer president, resigned, calling it "a bad deal for the member associations, a bad deal for football and a bad deal for the future of the game".

It is the project of a single person, even if it costs me my job.

Aftermath and calls for Infantino's exit

UEFA welcomed the withdrawal but made clear that trust was broken. "The current FIFA leadership has lost the trust not only of UEFA but also of many other members of the football family," it said, accusing Infantino of breaking two 2016 election promises on transparency and financial stewardship. CONCACAF demanded a "comprehensive review" of FIFA leadership, describing the episode as "a symptom of a leadership that no longer puts football first". With only the African confederation still reportedly backing Infantino, his re-election in March 2027 is now in serious doubt. FIFA has accumulated reserves of five billion dollars, yet the episode has exposed a president isolated from the sport's power centres.

A proposal of this magnitude does not reach this stage by accident. It is a symptom of a leadership that no longer puts football first.

The Trump connection

Infantino's close ties to Donald Trump had long irritated European officials. Shortly before the US-led bombing of Iran, Infantino awarded Trump a hastily created peace prize. The FFE investor group included Thrive Capital, the firm of Joshua Kushner, who belongs to the extended Trump family circle. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter called the plan a "soul sale". Swiss parliamentarian Roland Rino Büchel, a former FIFA marketing executive, described the affair as "a sports-political squabble over a lot of money", while Social Democrat Ueli Schmezer said it marked "another moral low point under Infantino's FIFA".