Fifa president Gianni Infantino has abandoned plans to bring private investment into its tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, after the proposal sparked significant opposition from within the game’s governing structures.
Infantino, 56, had offered all 211 member associations $40m each in exchange for backing the plan. But he acknowledged the project had “created divisions” that were “no longer in the interest” of its original objective, concluding: “As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
The collapse came after three of football’s major confederations lined up against the plan. Uefa and Concacaf — which governs football in North, Central America and the Caribbean — both rejected the proposal, with the Asian Football Confederation subsequently declaring it stood in “solidarity” with the two bodies. Together, Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC account for 55, 35 and 46 member association votes respectively, meaning if all backed their confederation’s stance, 136 nations would have voted against the plan — well above the 106 needed to block it. Concacaf sources said the vast majority of associations from their region had lost, or were losing, faith in Infantino.
The fallout also claimed a significant casualty inside Fifa itself. Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned over the matter, describing the proposal as “a bad deal for football” that would “mortgage football’s future.” UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham also weighed in, saying Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead Fifa. The governing bodies in Africa and Oceania had said they would discuss the plan in August.
Infantino now faces significant pressure as he pursues a fourth term as Fifa president at the organisation’s Congress in March. He said he intends to “bring all interested parties back together” in the “spirit of shared interest” in football.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
