FIFA's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors appeared to collapse on Thursday after the Asian Football Confederation joined UEFA and CONCACAF in publicly rejecting the scheme, leaving Gianni Infantino facing near-total opposition from the sport's major continental bodies.
The AFC's decision brings three of football's most powerful confederations into alignment against the proposal. The development came alongside the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro, one of Infantino's most senior advisers, who quit in protest at the plans.
The plan
Reports emerged on Tuesday that FIFA had set in motion a radical scheme to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Under the proposal, FIFA would create a subsidiary to control the operational delivery of tournaments and their commercial interests, including ticketing and television rights.
FIFA hopes to raise more than £3billion from investors, with investment bank J.P. Morgan advising the governing body on the deal. American venture capitalist firm Thrive, led by chief executive Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump, is expected to front the proposed investor group.
Football associations are being offered £15million in additional revenue as an incentive to support the plan. Despite FIFA's insistence that outside investors would not take any operational role, critics have raised serious concerns that investor pressure would lead to more frequent tournaments, such as the Club World Cup and the World Cup itself, to maximise financial returns.
The backlash
UEFA's 55 member associations were the first to publicly oppose Infantino, threatening to boycott FIFA competitions including the World Cup itself. CONCACAF's 41 members followed suit, and the AFC's decision to join them has left the plan without the backing of three major confederations.
Cordeiro continued to attack the proposals publicly before stepping down, with his resignation adding to the picture of an Infantino presidency increasingly at odds with those around him. The Norwegian Football Association also publicly criticised FIFA and Infantino, widening the international opposition.
The English Football Association has been among the most outspoken critics, joining UEFA in threatening a World Cup boycott. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham called publicly for Infantino to resign, with broadcaster Piers Morgan backing that call. Daily Mail Sport columnist Jeff Powell urged the FA to stand up to what he called "mafia godfather Gianni Infantino," while Daily Mail Sport's editorial also called on Infantino to leave office.
Nathan Goldberg Crenier, vice president of US Soccer, published a damning piece in the New York Times. He accused Infantino of keeping FIFA Council members, the organisation's main decision-making group, in the dark "about this project, which would transform FIFA forever, until the news leaked publicly."
"He behaves as if he's 'the king of soccer', as President Trump described him, who can rule the sport by fiat," Crenier wrote. "If this is how he envisions the management of soccer's future, with plans hatched with private investors and relayed later to soccer leaders, then he is not fit to look after our sport."
Crenier called Infantino's approach of making additional federation funding conditional on how members vote "an approach closer to mob extortion than to democracy," and urged federations worldwide to act against Infantino personally as well as against his plans. "I strongly believe FIFA can continue to fulfill its mission of developing the sport commercially while respecting the notion that some cultural resources should be preserved for public benefit," he wrote. "We cannot move FIFA forward with a leader whose goal is to sell out soccer for personal gain."
British public opinion
A YouGov survey found that 73 per cent of Britons support UEFA's threat to boycott the World Cup over the plans, a figure that rises to 87 per cent among football fans. Four per cent of Britons said they backed Infantino's proposals.
Infantino under pressure
Infantino sought to defend the scheme earlier this week, insisting that "the fans remain the cornerstone of the beautiful game." The claim drew scepticism from critics who pointed to high ticket prices and visa problems that affected travelling fans at the recent World Cup.
The 56-year-old has held the FIFA presidency since 2016, when he replaced the disgraced Sepp Blatter following a series of scandals at the governing body. Despite the mounting pressure, he has declared his intention to stand for re-election at the next FIFA Congress, scheduled for Morocco in March 2027.
