By AP — August 1, 2026
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned a controversial proposal to sell a stake in World Cup revenues to private equity after heavy opposition from regional soccer bodies and the resignation of a senior adviser.
Infantino announced Friday that the initiative — which would have created a $20 billion company to manage World Cups and related commercial rights with roughly 20% owned by private investors — will not proceed. He said the project had created harmful divisions and that, after listening to stakeholders, it was no longer in the organization’s interest to continue.
The plan had named a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner as the intended anchor investor. That detail, and the idea of privatizing part of football’s flagship commercial assets, prompted immediate backlash.
Europe’s UEFA announced a boycott of the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions in protest, and North America’s CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also opposed the proposal. “Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said, adding that the World Cup “belongs to football.”
The proposal’s collapse followed public dissent from inside FIFA. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser and former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the organization on a White House World Cup task force, resigned and urged FIFA staff to speak out. “I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said.
Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff had been misled by a lack of transparency in planning the sale and called for the project to be halted. Lamour described the initiative as “the project of one person” and urged football leaders to reassess the organization’s direction.
Infantino’s plan would have spun off FIFA’s commercial businesses into a subsidiary handling men’s and women’s World Cups and Club World Cups. Critics argued the move risked ceding control of the sport’s most important competition to private investors and would undermine football’s governance.
The next FIFA event on the calendar is the Women’s Under-20 World Cup starting Sept. 5 in Poland; UEFA members had indicated they would boycott that tournament in response to the proposal.
The episode may weaken Infantino politically. Reelected unopposed in 2019 and 2023, he is eligible for one more four-year term under FIFA rules. The deadline to enter the next presidential contest is Nov. 18, four months before the vote to be held in Rabat, Morocco. Observers say the controversy could complicate his standing within the organization.